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8 Ways to Get Into A Healthy Author Mindset
Authors can be very insecure about themselves. If I had to guess why this is, I would assume it has something to do with the fact that we're putting pieces of ourselves into stories and then asking people to buy them and critique them in public.
Seems like a legitimate reason to feel anxious and insecure, right?
But that second-guessing yourself? The nervousness and the fear? That chips away at you as an author. And it chips away at your ability to produce stories you can be proud of.
I've been a published author for...*counts in head* three years now. That's not long, but it's long enough for me to have learned a thing or two. Specifically, I've found thought-patterns that are crucial to me and my success as an author. Let's discuss a few of the ways that you and I can slip into the author mindset.
1. Do not compare your work. EVER. Do not compare your current work-in-progress to anybody else's story (I wrote a whole post about that here). And do NOT compare your current work-in-progress to any of your other stories, either. That way lies insanity. Because you know what? This new story is unique. It is not going to be like any other, so why are you comparing it to anything else? Yes, you can look to other stories (both by other people and ones that you've written in the past) for inspiration and lessons, but you absolutely should not be using other stories as a measuring stick.
I realized this when I was writing Colors of Fear . Two years previously, I had published Skies of Dripping Gold , a short story that was very well received. I was afraid Colors of Fear wouldn't be as good. And then I realized: They are not even close to the same story. One is dystopian, one is fantasy. One is highly symbolic, one is not. The list of differences go on. Once I was able to break out of comparing my stories, I was free to move forward and create something new.
2. Take your writing seriously, but not yourself. You want to be an author? Then be an author. Dedicate. Write on a regular basis. Learn how to draft and re-write and edit and edit again. Practice social media presence, marketing, and reviewing. Work hard. Take your writing seriously. But do not take yourself seriously. Why? Because you are human. You are going to fail. To expect differently is like expecting Vizzini to stop using the world inconceivable. It's not going to happen. So be willing to laugh off your mistakes, learn from them, then get back to work.
Bonuses: Not taking yourself seriously allows you to enjoy the writing process more because you are no longer afraid of looking stupid (even to yourself), so you can attempt new styles and stories. It also lets you separate yourself from your work so that you aren't offended when idiots people leave you bad reviews.
3. Do not wait for inspiration. You do not wait for stories to come to you. You go after them, and you go after them hard. Inspiration is for hobbyists and amateurs. Be better than them.
This will allow you to approach your writing as a job. It will also allow you to break free from the horrible "I'm not inspired today, I must be a bad author" mindset.
4. Always move forward. Your story is a mess? Don't give up. Instead, look for the next step: Do you need to rewrite? Adjust the world-building? Add a character? Put together an action plan and keep moving forward. Are you getting slammed at work/school/life-in-general? That sucks, but that doesn't mean you can give up on your author goals. Adjust your life so that you are still able to brainstorm/plan/outline/write in spite of everything that is going on around you. The only real way you can fail as an author is if you stop moving forward.
5. Remember why writing is important to you. Being an author can be very stressful. You may find yourself getting distracted with pitching and formatting and marketing and gaining reviews. That's normal. After all, those are all parts of being an author. But none of those are the reasons that you started writing. So, while it is important to be an author, it's also important to scale it back and remember why you started creating stories in the first place. What is your mission as a writer? Keep that front and center. It will push you to work hard, but also remind you to take a step back and be proud of your accomplishments.
6. Remember that it is okay to edit heavily. Maybe there are writers out there who don't need to do a ton of editing. Or maybe you've written stories in the past that required basically no rewriting or editing. That's great. But that doesn't mean that you can expect all of your stories to come easily. There will be stories that you have to edit heavily or re-writing completely (perhaps multiple times). That is okay. It's part of the process.
Alllll part of the process.
7. Do not rely on reviews or feedback to validate you. It doesn't matter what other people are saying. What matters is that you believe in yourself and your writing. No, I'm not suggesting that you ignore reviews or reader feedback when trying to improve your writing. What I am saying is that you should not be relying on outside advice to feel like an author. Because you know what? It'll never be enough. No amount of 5-stars or "you did goods" from friends will help you kick imposter syndrome or self-doubt. The only person who can do that is you.
8. Allow yourself to be proud, and give yourself room to grow. The key to this? Be proud, not arrogant. Arrogance means you are so blinded by ego that you cannot grow. Being proud of your accomplishments as an author means that you have a healthy respect for how far you've come. This is really important, people.
I have my three published stories sitting on my bookshelf. They are in my line of vision when I write. And you know what? I am proud of those stories: Of the work that went into them and the lessons I learned from them. I'm also proud of this blog, my Youtube channel, my title as a Phoenix Fiction Writer, my time as the Live Events Coordinator for WriteOnCon, and many other things. I am proud of these things because they represent hard work, learning, and fulfillment. But I also recognize that I have room to improve. This is not an admission of self-doubt, but an opportunity for exiting new growth.
Those are 8 ways that I help pull myself into a healthy author mindset. I hope you find them helpful. Do you have any of your own? I'd love to hear them!
Related articles:
5 Steps to Fighting Off Writer's Insecurity
Don’t Write Every Day: 9 Ways to Rest and Rejuvenate - A Guest Post by Beth Wangler9 Tips for Dealing With Writer's Burnout
Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday!
Some links are Amazon Affiliate. Thank you for your support!
Seems like a legitimate reason to feel anxious and insecure, right?
But that second-guessing yourself? The nervousness and the fear? That chips away at you as an author. And it chips away at your ability to produce stories you can be proud of.
I've been a published author for...*counts in head* three years now. That's not long, but it's long enough for me to have learned a thing or two. Specifically, I've found thought-patterns that are crucial to me and my success as an author. Let's discuss a few of the ways that you and I can slip into the author mindset.
1. Do not compare your work. EVER. Do not compare your current work-in-progress to anybody else's story (I wrote a whole post about that here). And do NOT compare your current work-in-progress to any of your other stories, either. That way lies insanity. Because you know what? This new story is unique. It is not going to be like any other, so why are you comparing it to anything else? Yes, you can look to other stories (both by other people and ones that you've written in the past) for inspiration and lessons, but you absolutely should not be using other stories as a measuring stick.
I realized this when I was writing Colors of Fear . Two years previously, I had published Skies of Dripping Gold , a short story that was very well received. I was afraid Colors of Fear wouldn't be as good. And then I realized: They are not even close to the same story. One is dystopian, one is fantasy. One is highly symbolic, one is not. The list of differences go on. Once I was able to break out of comparing my stories, I was free to move forward and create something new.
2. Take your writing seriously, but not yourself. You want to be an author? Then be an author. Dedicate. Write on a regular basis. Learn how to draft and re-write and edit and edit again. Practice social media presence, marketing, and reviewing. Work hard. Take your writing seriously. But do not take yourself seriously. Why? Because you are human. You are going to fail. To expect differently is like expecting Vizzini to stop using the world inconceivable. It's not going to happen. So be willing to laugh off your mistakes, learn from them, then get back to work.
Bonuses: Not taking yourself seriously allows you to enjoy the writing process more because you are no longer afraid of looking stupid (even to yourself), so you can attempt new styles and stories. It also lets you separate yourself from your work so that you aren't offended when idiots people leave you bad reviews.
3. Do not wait for inspiration. You do not wait for stories to come to you. You go after them, and you go after them hard. Inspiration is for hobbyists and amateurs. Be better than them.
This will allow you to approach your writing as a job. It will also allow you to break free from the horrible "I'm not inspired today, I must be a bad author" mindset.
4. Always move forward. Your story is a mess? Don't give up. Instead, look for the next step: Do you need to rewrite? Adjust the world-building? Add a character? Put together an action plan and keep moving forward. Are you getting slammed at work/school/life-in-general? That sucks, but that doesn't mean you can give up on your author goals. Adjust your life so that you are still able to brainstorm/plan/outline/write in spite of everything that is going on around you. The only real way you can fail as an author is if you stop moving forward.
5. Remember why writing is important to you. Being an author can be very stressful. You may find yourself getting distracted with pitching and formatting and marketing and gaining reviews. That's normal. After all, those are all parts of being an author. But none of those are the reasons that you started writing. So, while it is important to be an author, it's also important to scale it back and remember why you started creating stories in the first place. What is your mission as a writer? Keep that front and center. It will push you to work hard, but also remind you to take a step back and be proud of your accomplishments.
6. Remember that it is okay to edit heavily. Maybe there are writers out there who don't need to do a ton of editing. Or maybe you've written stories in the past that required basically no rewriting or editing. That's great. But that doesn't mean that you can expect all of your stories to come easily. There will be stories that you have to edit heavily or re-writing completely (perhaps multiple times). That is okay. It's part of the process.
Alllll part of the process.7. Do not rely on reviews or feedback to validate you. It doesn't matter what other people are saying. What matters is that you believe in yourself and your writing. No, I'm not suggesting that you ignore reviews or reader feedback when trying to improve your writing. What I am saying is that you should not be relying on outside advice to feel like an author. Because you know what? It'll never be enough. No amount of 5-stars or "you did goods" from friends will help you kick imposter syndrome or self-doubt. The only person who can do that is you.
8. Allow yourself to be proud, and give yourself room to grow. The key to this? Be proud, not arrogant. Arrogance means you are so blinded by ego that you cannot grow. Being proud of your accomplishments as an author means that you have a healthy respect for how far you've come. This is really important, people.
I have my three published stories sitting on my bookshelf. They are in my line of vision when I write. And you know what? I am proud of those stories: Of the work that went into them and the lessons I learned from them. I'm also proud of this blog, my Youtube channel, my title as a Phoenix Fiction Writer, my time as the Live Events Coordinator for WriteOnCon, and many other things. I am proud of these things because they represent hard work, learning, and fulfillment. But I also recognize that I have room to improve. This is not an admission of self-doubt, but an opportunity for exiting new growth.
Those are 8 ways that I help pull myself into a healthy author mindset. I hope you find them helpful. Do you have any of your own? I'd love to hear them!
Related articles:
5 Steps to Fighting Off Writer's Insecurity
Don’t Write Every Day: 9 Ways to Rest and Rejuvenate - A Guest Post by Beth Wangler9 Tips for Dealing With Writer's Burnout
Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday!Some links are Amazon Affiliate. Thank you for your support!
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