Break your Writing Drought – 5 EASY Mindset Activities for Writers
As a writer, I know all the tricks in the book when it comes to making ‘excuses’ as to why you’re NOT writing. In fact, I’ve probably made them all and I still try to make excuses from time-to-time, however, now my mindset shuts them down. I’ve trained myself to deal with the excuses before I have a chance to consider them and you can do the same. I guarantee that with practice, you will remedy your writing drought.
Most excuses I hear revolve around fear, time and ability. It’s time we addressed these things…
1. Many people struggle with their confidence when it comes to writing and that’s what we’re going to address right now. Confidence is part of fear – we fear we’re never going to be good enough to make it as a writer. ACTIVITY: Write down three focused affirmations but to do this, I want you to imagine your writing dream and create affirmations as if it’s happened already. For example, ‘My writing improves every day’ or ‘I’m comfortable with my writing voice’ or maybe, ‘I’ve just published my book’. Write these affirmations down on separate cards and pin them up in your writing space. Make sure you see these every single day. Writing down your affirmations will help you remind your brain every day that you CAN be a writer!
2. Many people believe they just don’t have the creativity to become a writer. This is because they doubt their own ability. Let’s work on this! ACTIVITY: There are two possible activities here and you’re welcome to try them both. Number 1 – draw something and write about it. Now you don’t have to be the best drawer – you could bubble write a word, or draw out a fantasy land and spend some time describing it. Use adjectives to describe objects and adverbs to describe movements. Number 2 – close your eyes and imagine the person you hope or aspire to be. Describe this person in the third person in as much detail as you can from their hair colour and favourite outfit to favourite perfume and pop star. Then imagine this is you now and describe yourself in the first person. You’ll have a magnificent character description and whenever you doubt your creativity, remember and refer to this. You’ll soon be tapping into that creativity!
3. If your favourite excuse is that you don’t have time to write, I challenge you right now! Whether you believe it or not, you do have time, writing or not writing is your choice (I know, tough love, but it’s the truth). If you really want to go out with friends, we make the time. If we want to eat, we make the time. If you really want to write – make the time!!! Even if it’s just 10 minutes each day, make the most of it and celebrate the fact that you’re still writing. ACTIVITY: Schedule at least 10 minutes per day to write. Even if you don’t feel like writing, write anything. Comment on a movie you’ve watched, something you’ve done or seen today, or write a poem on how you feel. Acrostic poems are a great way to inspire your writing – simply write a word long ways, and write a sentence beginning with each letter that relates to the word. See mine below, for the word WRITING. You’ll soon realise that you do have the time!
4. If you’ve guaranteed some time each day to write, then you’re on the right track, but it can be hard to stay motivated. Motivation can depend on your mindset too, so in order to stay motivated, you need to keep writing regularly. So, you’ve added it to your schedule – that’s awesome! Now, it’s time for the challenge. Learn a new writing skill! ACTIVITY: Think of something writing-related that you want to improve. So, if you wanted to learn how to write flash-fiction or free verse poetry, spend some time researching and then try it. You could carry this out to last you the whole week, and complete a mixture of research and writing practice. At the end of the week, you can evaluate your progress or ask others for feedback. Get yourself a writing buddy! Having a writing buddy is a great idea – this will keep you motivated! If you already have some pieces of writing, you can even use this and improve it. If you wanted to develop your ‘showing’ rather than ‘telling’ skills, or your editing skills, you can take your previous writing and improve it – in fact, this is an excellent thing to get into a habit of doing and doing this can also improve your confidence!
5. Another commonality is fear and this can really affect your mindset as a writer. When I first started writing, I didn’t want to share my work. In fact, every time I thought about it, I felt emotional. It’s challenging to get over that, but it’s essential to change your thought patterns. Improving your thought patterns in relation to facing your writing fears actually means you are open to learning and improving, it helps you progress and grow as a writer, it helps you to find your voice, improve your confidence and it increases your motivation. Once you get over the fear, you can really start to ENJOY your writing – this will show in your writing too! ACTIVITY: Braindump your writing fears – do you fear you’re not good enough? You don’t have the skills? You’re not creative enough? etc… (only you know how you feel)! Then I want you to remember… ‘Writing is a learning journey and your writing is ALWAYS a work-in-progress’. Okay, so you don’t expect a baby to suddenly start walking, talking, writing, do you? It takes practice, right? Well, why do we think we should suddenly be creative, or suddenly be the best writer, if we’ve never practised the art of writing? It’s time you remember this! For every fear you have, write down how you can address it. If you feel you’re not creative or don’t have the skills, or time, what will you do to change that? Make yourself a plan, and remember that when we really want something, we change. We find a way! If you’re serious about writing, you need to face those fears and find a way. What’s the worse that can happen?
My message to you today is…
Mindset is the key to your success when it comes to writing. If you can master that, you can master everything you need to be a great writer. It takes hard work, determination, and it has both its ups and downs, but if you’re serious and you’re willing to do the work in the beginning, you CAN do it! I completed my BA and MA and had published work in books and magazines, but I still didn’t have the belief and confidence. It wasn’t until I worked on my writing mindset that things began to change for me. Start making the small changes now and you’ll get there!
Much love,
