If you are starting your writing career today, you should take it as a step-by-step process. For instance, you might want to prepare your desk or your writing station and remove any distractions or obstacles that could prevent you from writing with focus.
Initially, this step might seem as if it won’t help you much, and it is superfluous – but the truth is that so much about writing has to do with how you feel, and having a distraction-free writing zone can make an enormous difference.
Let’s get into the details.
Remove Clutter
When it comes to removing clutter, you should get your thoughts in order as well. If you are new to the writer’s journey, your mind might be filled with all sorts of thoughts and worries, including the worry of what people might think if they found out that you want to become a writer.
You might have the recurring thought that no one would be interested in reading your stories. It might get to the point that you get plagued by self-doubt, and you see yourself on the brink of abandoning writing altogether.
So, it wouldn’t be wrong to state that the one big hurdle that is standing in your way is actually yourself. However, you should know that this is totally normal, as it can happen to all creative people out there.
Initially, you will feel clueless. In the middle of your journey, you will be panicking before you will eventually settle and feel okay.
Get Past of the Mental Blocks
The key is to keep doing the very thing that you decided to do, which is writing as a way to get past your mental blocks. On that note, getting past the mental blocks is also one of the hardest aspects of becoming a writer. However, if you act like a stubborn child and keep working on your writing project relentlessly, your future self will thank you later.
To get past one’s mental block, you need the following things:
- Belief in Yourself
- Persistence
- Determination
Nonetheless, the primary thing that you need to stick to writing is to motivate yourself to learn. If you are planning to write a short story, you might want to check out a guide on how to write a short story because believe us when we tell you that having a learner’s mindset is exactly what you need to stick to writing and to produce well-written work that you are proud of.
So, having a learner’s attitude is absolutely mandatory if you want to get out of your mind and get the words out on the blank page in front of you.
Avoid Negative Thoughts
It doesn’t matter what you believed to be true until now about thoughts; the truth is that you aren’t controlled by your thoughts, but your thoughts can control you. On that note, there are several thoughts that won’t help you at all, and it would be in your best interest to leave them behind today.
I won’t be good at writing.
Now, this thought is a normal worry to have, and even if you succeed in publishing best-sellers, there is a fair chance that you might still feel this way. You should know that no one is expecting you to be good from the get-go.
So, give yourself a mental break and accept the fact that you will be learning something new. Immediate perfection doesn’t really happen – at least not in the real world. Producing bad drafts when you are starting your writer’s journey is absolutely normal and not a sign that you don’t have what it takes to be a writer.
I am not educated enough.
Another negative thought that you must avoid at all costs when you are new on the writer’s journey is that you might believe that you aren’t educated enough for this job. Now, English might not be your first language, and you might not have taken a solid course in writing – though we recommend that you do that. The truth is that writing is often self-taught.
As you write one page after another, you will be steadily learning and improving your skills as you go. In other words, you aren’t expected to know and ace everything from the get-go, but you are steadily building up new skills and abilities through courses, blogs, and other resources. Keep in mind that your real progress will come from your mistakes and experiments.
I don’t have time.
Also, when it comes to working on your writing career, you should know that you must make time for it. You are more likely to feel like you don’t have time if you have planned to write a full-length novel for yourself.
The best part is to know that there is no deadline unless you are taking part in a competition – other than the one that you choose. You don’t have to rush, and you don’t have to complete your first draft in six months or a year. Take as much time as you need to write your book. As long as you are moving forward, everything is okay.
Pro Tip: Set A Routine
Writing can become a tedious task for many aspiring and even published writers. However, if you have just started to work on your writing project, we recommend you set a routine. The easiest way you can do so is by setting aside the same block of time every day to sit and get something written. If you cannot write every day, you can resort to writing one hour every two weeks on the weekend. All you need is to get the momentum going because slower progress is still progress.
Final Thoughts
As you are just starting to work on your writing career, you should know that you aren’t required to be absolutely perfect right off the bat. What is really required of you is to make honest attempts at working things out in whatever you can manage. Once you have accomplished something, such as a chapter, you can always get back to it to perfect it according to your liking. So, you need something to start with. It is best to ditch your inner perfectionist and work from a place of passion and creativity.
