Approach Writing with the Write Mindset

Writing is one of those things that many people want to do. In fact, many people will start writing but many will also stop. They start to believe that because their story doesn’t sound great the first time they write it, something must be wrong with them. They must not be a writer. And it seems to be too much work to try and figure out where to go with the story.

Writing is a process that takes time and focus. But if you don’t approach it with the write mindset, it can be defeating.

The first few times of sitting down with a new idea is pretty exciting. It is pretty cool to start to see your story on paper, to see it come to life. It is a great milestone, to even get started with writing. So kudos.

But then you sit down the third or fourth time and something has happened. Writing becomes hard. The story doesn’t sound like you thought it should. The ideas aren’t flowing as much as they were in the beginning. It doesn’t matter what you do, the ideas start to dry up and the story just sounds bad. It just seems like work. It’s at this point that we start to convince ourselves that we aren’t writers or at least not very good ones. And that’s when the excuses to not write, creep in.

It happens way too often. We spend way too much time being hard on ourselves which in turn, turns us off of writing.

So what can you do?

If you really do plan on writing, you need to approach it with the write mindset. When the ideas flow, it will seem easy. Unfortunately  there’s a catch. Sometimes the ideas are not going to come or the story is just not turning out very good. It can be difficult to keep going. It’s at this point you need to stop. Stop writing. Walk away from your writing and play with it. Let the idea grow in your mind. Ask it questions, flip it around, play ‘what if’ and see what comes to you.

Then when you do sit down to write, bring your presence to the present. Take a deep breath and bring your attention to what you are doing – writing. Block out the outside distractions and focus on your story. And remind yourself that you are a writer. The odds of your story being really good or even sounding like it does in your head, the first time, are pretty slim. Most of us write bad first drafts but if we kept our attention on that, we’d all quit.

“Play with your writing.”

Why does bringing my attention to the present matter?

As I mentioned earlier, often getting started on a story is easy but keeping going on it, can be difficult. You’ve got several pages written and then you go to sit down and you jump right in, trying to figure out where you’re at and where you’re going. Sometimes that might work but often it will seem overwhelming or as I said before, you’ll notice all that’s wrong with your story. So then you’ll be drawn in to trying to rewrite what is there. Unfortunately, that can pull you into being stuck and shutting down the ideas.

By getting in the habit of bringing your attention to the moment when you sit down to write by simply taking a deep breath and focusing on the story in front of you, can make all the difference to your success with writing. You’re giving yourself that time to get focused and to get ready. You will find it much easier to allow the ideas to flow. To let your creativity have free reign. And to bring in all of those ideas that you had while you played with your story. The right mindset is also about focusing on that you are a writer and the writing is a process. You will learn as you go.

As I’ve said before, my stories aren’t good in the writing phase, but they get really good in the rewriting phase.

Approach Writing with the Write Mindset.

You are a writer. Believe it.