I’ve written professionally for 40 years now. Although I’m sure my math can’t be correct since I can’t possibly be that old, I have learned a thing or two about the writer mindset during all that time. Some of those lessons have come, as expected, through writing as well as from working as a writing coach for two decades. Other writer mindset lessons, however, have come from my dogs.
All too often, we writers focus on what’s wrong with our writing instead of allowing the writing to flow, knowing we can fix it later. The latter is called editing. Now my pups don’t know a thing about editing, but they do know how to throw themselves into an activity with boundless and unflagging enthusiasm.
My now-deceased English cockers Hoover and Dashiell’s favorite game involved trying to find a ball in the snow or the brush. Noses down and tails wagging like crazy, they would search and search and search, half the time only finding the ball by stepping on it. Now, I’m not equating your writing skills to their sniffing skills. But imagine what your life and your writing would be like if you approached it with that kind of enthusiasm.
What gets in the way of feeling that positive? That inner critic that wants to highlight everything that’s wrong with your writing (right up until you actually need that scrutiny during the editing process) sure doesn’t help. Focusing on what you haven’t accomplished rather than what you have also gets in the way. While making sure that you’re getting in the writing time you need is essential, so is setting realistic expectations. If you’re always expecting to write more pages than you possibly can or spend more time at the computer than your life allows, you’re always going to feel bad about not meeting your goals. The worse you feel, the less you’re going to want to write.
The key to a positive writer mindset is a lot like the key to a positive life mindset. Be generous with yourself, find the joy and remember to be grateful. Here’s to that!
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