Writing does not begin with writing.
And succeeding at writing does not depend entirely on the act of writing alone.
Writing does not start when you put your fingers to the keyboard or pen to paper.
It does not even begin when you create an outline or map out an idea or create your characters.
Writing, if you intend to be successful at it, begins before all of that – before outlines and
certainly before word counts.
It starts with a mindset.
It starts with:
Deciding that you are a writer
Establishing your identity as a writer.
Building up your confidence in doing so.
Laying down the groundwork to start acting like one.
Taking your writing off of the pedestal that you have it on.
Breaking writing down into manageable chunks.
Approaching your writing like you do everything else in life: one step at a time.
The common theme? It starts with you.
Writing depends on building up your own confidence as a writer.
Writing depends on the commitment to seeing yourself as a writer.
And it depends on you deciding that you are writing.
Before you do anything in life and before you set out to achieve any goal, lofty or otherwise, you
have to commit yourself to it, mentally. The degree to which you set yourself to your goal is
directly proportionate to whether or not you ultimately achieve it, and the more resolved you are
in your thinking, the more likely you are to see the results for which you aim.
You become what you think about.
Everything worthwhile begins as an intention. All considerable success and all big
accomplishments start as a thought or inkling, and the probability of achieving something lies in
whether or not you set yourself to it, and to what degree.
So, plant the seed.
Say to yourself that you are going to start writing – or write a book. Say it with resolution, and
repeat it with sincerity. State it in a way that makes it seem genuine; deep-rooted, and hold it
very close.
Decide with resolution that you intend to write, and then state that objective all the time. Remind
yourself every morning – or right now, whatever time of day it may be – that you are already a
writer, and that you intend to write.
Keep reminding yourself of this decision.
One caveat is that you must believe in your goal entirely. One would assume that you are
already naturally talented at writing… or in the very least have a sincere interest in doing so –
beyond the superficial “I just think it would sound cool to publish my work.” One would assume
that if you want to write, it is because you are drawn to writing for a substantial reason, and that
that reason is worthwhile.
If this is not the case – if you are only writing for the sake of writing, or you want to write
because it sounds cool or the idea of being a best-selling author is appealing because you want
to impress your old high school classmates, then I would encourage you to find something that
is better worth your time. You are meant for something else, my dear, and you can have
greatness if you only choose to pursue a field that really brings that out.
(Which may not even be writing. And that is okay.)
If, however, this assumption does apply to you – if you are writing because you love to write,
and you are a natural writer, then welcome. I urge all us to first discover our natural talents, and
then organize these strengths into an actionable objective, learning from it as we move toward
that goal. Stating our goal – and repeating it or writing it down every day, especially in times of
low productivity – is invaluable in determining our eventual success.
Writing a book or writing in general must be, for whatever period of time – whether it is one
month or one year – a clear and definite aim. It cannot be a wayward “maybe, someday, not
today” sort of thought. It cannot be a fuzzy “maybe, kind of” sort of ambition. If it is, you will most
likely fail. If you approach your own writing as a disposable task – something that you “might”
start to fit in “if there’s time” – then you will undoubtedly never make it your first priority, and you
will never be the writer you could. You will not see success in your writing.
Without an actionable goal – one that you believe in and are passionate about accomplishing –
you will undoubtedly fail. The primary cause of failure is having no definite, specific aspiration
against we are measuring our actions from one day to the next; no target at which we can direct
our energies.
Without a clear objective, we flounder.
And when we flounder for too long, we fail.
Do not drift aimlessly in your thoughts regarding whether you will or will not write. We have
already agreed to agree that you are, on some level, a writer. And if you are a writer, on
whatever level, permit yourself the right to actually write. Decide this.
Decide with certainty and resolve.
Go into this with the conviction that you will actually write – that you are committed to the task –
and you will see the task itself unfold more easily
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