You can train yourself to be a writer.
Unlike other trades and careers, many people see writing as a binary vocation: Either you’re a writer, or you aren’t. Or, if you aren’t a naturally skilled writer, then you’ll never be a real writer. Before we dive into thoroughly disproving that thought (because that line of thinking is categorically flawed), let’s first examine how that thought makes you feel. When you read the sentence, Real writers don’t need to practice or Writing comes easy or naturally to real writers, how do you feel? Me? I read those sentences and feel defeated before I even begin.
Being a writer starts in your head first, before you ever start putting words onto a page.
Thoughts, feelings, and actions
We learn from cognitive behavioral therapy that our thoughts determine our feelings, our feelings influence our actions, and our actions create our results. So to examine how to be a writer, we have to start with our thoughts. Thinking thoughts like the one earlier—Real writers don’t need practice—make me feel defeated. And when I’m feeling defeated I’m not likely to take risks, be vulnerable, or try something different. When I’m feeling defeated I play things safe and keep them small. I stick to what I know, boxing in any creativity.
And when I play small? I yield small and predictable results. (And I definitely don’t yield any writing that carries meaning or forges connection.)
See what just that one thought did to my writing? That one thought—Real writers don’t need practice—completely derailed any momentum I might have had, cut down any risks I might have been willing to take, and effectively blocked any ideas from materializing on the page.
Our thoughts matter, friend. Training yourself to be a writer means training your brain to think thoughts that empower you to write.
Training your brain
The trick with thoughts is that we don’t actually have to believe them to think them. We can create positive feelings and actions just by thinking the right thought even when we know we don’t completely believe it.
Try this one: I can learn to write well.
You may be so entrenched in a writer’s binary mindset that you read that thought—I can learn to write well—and completely dismiss it. But how did you feel when you read it? How did your brain respond when you introduced that new thought into the mix?
Maybe a light turned on in your head, and for the first time in a long time, you considered that your future in writing can look different from what you’d believed. Maybe you started feeling hopeful. And that small speck of hope led you to casually research writing classes, join writing Facebook groups, and deep dive different resources to help you learn more. And when you’ve opened the door to those new avenues of learning? You start learning and start writing.
All of that just by thinking a thought you know you don’t even fully believe yet.
Let’s try a different one: My story is worth writing.
This is a thought that stops many would-be writers who lurk in Bookish Edits–land. I’d write—but I don’t have anything interesting to write about. Here at Bookish Edits we think, My story matters and is worth writing.
How do you feel when you read that thought? Maybe a little more convicted or resolute. Maybe you feel more validated and determined. When I’m feeling validated, determined, convicted, I stay focused and find ways to take near-immediate action.
One thought that I’ve been playing with recently is Writing my story matters now. I’ve been waiting for the “right moment” to start writing, but the truth is that if I keep putting off writing, I’m not actually writing. I’m still working to believe that writing my story matters now (because the thought I’m waiting for the right time is strong and entrenched), but what’s important today is that I’m articulating that new thought in my head, writing it down, saying it out loud. I’m working to convince my brain that this new thought deserves to stay, and I’m confident that soon enough I’ll believe it.
When we believe that we can change our thoughts and beliefs, we believe that we can change how our lives and dreams play out. Training yourself to be a writer begins with your thoughts, so choose them wisely.
How to choose new thoughts
Choosing new thoughts starts with identifying how you want to feel. When you think about your writing and your story, how do you want to feel? Excited? Motivated? Validated? Grounded? Once you know how you want to feel, start to play with thoughts that can make you feel that way.
Excitement—I have something new to write each day.
Motivated—Someone out there is waiting to read my story.
Validated—No one can write my story the way I can.
Grounded—I know why I’m writing and why my story matters.
The most effective way to train your brain is to reverse engineer your feelings to articulate the most effective and impactful thoughts.
Writing thoughts to get you started
The most effective writing thoughts will evolve organically from your own mind, but I’ll drop a few to get you started. Remember to consider how you feel when you read these, and most importantly identify how you want to feel.
Writing my story matters now.
I can learn how to write my story.
I know where to find support in my writing.
My story is waiting for me to write it.
I’m the only one who can write my story in the way it needs to be told.
Someone is waiting for me to write my story.
My story will impact my readers in meaningful ways.
I’m not behind. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be as a writer.
Try some of these on. Name how they make you feel and what you want to do when you feel that way. Training yourself to be a writer doesn’t have much to do with writing, at least at the beginning. Learning about story structure, tense, point-of-view, grammar, usage, and punctuation are all important to writing—but that’s not what makes you a writer. Being a writer lies in your thoughts—so train yourself to think like one.
