Part 2 of Make the Scary Parts Less Scary
A month ago, I began exploring the idea that the thought “I can handle this” can help creatives get past fears that keep us from accomplishing our goals. A national news interview of a celebrity inspired that post and this one: the celebrity, diagnosed with a chronic illness, felt overwhelmed and terrified until she learned what the disease was and how to live with it. She said once she understood those things, her mindset shifted from “I can’t do this” to “I can handle this.” Refresh your memory or read the first post.
Writers can make similar shifts. No matter what part of your writing career what makes you feel you can’t, there are ten mindset shifts you can use to transform your struggle into a process of learning, practicing, and becoming confident.
Shift 1: From “I Can’t” to “I Can’t Yet”
When you get stuck, your brain has shifted into some version of I can’t. Your brain works hard to protect you from danger and will throw all kinds of reasons you can’t up in order to keep you from trying. You can’t, or won’t, go forward because you see the gaps in your knowledge as a permanent deficit. In psychology, this is called a fixed mindset.
It is important that you understand that with practice, you can change your mindset from fixed to what psychologists call a growth-mindset. A growth-mindset is when you view challenges, setbacks, and unknowns as chances to learn and improve.
How can you change from one to the other? It takes a conscious effort to change. Start by adding the word yet to the end of your “I can’t…” statement. This slight change in the words you use moves you from fixed to growth.
Examples:
Fixed: I can’t write descriptions.
Growth: I can’t write descriptions yet.
Fixed: I’m not good at marketing, so I’ll never be successful.
Growth: I’m not good at marketing and am not successful yet.
Practice
Now you do it. Write your I can’t statement. Next, rewrite it and end it with the word yet. Then, look for resources, craft books, writing groups, workshops, etc. Analyze books you’ve enjoyed reading for how that author handled similar challenges. This will shift your mindset from writing is talent-based to writing is skill-based, making improvement attainable.
Shift 2: From “I’m Not Good Enough” to “I’m Getting Better”
When you think you’re not good enough, you are making a comparison. You’re comparing your work to a published work, maybe even a bestseller, or an international classic. That comparison freezes you. How can you continue?
First, by realizing you are comparing your in-progress work to someone else’s years of incremental improvements, of receiving rejections, and of making improvements, plus the professional editor who influenced that work.
Second, by changing I’m not good enough to I’m getting better. Compare your writing right now to the writing you did last year or five years ago. What improvements have you made? Are your sentences tighter, your openings stronger, or your dialogue more natural? Did you finish your first manuscript this year? Track those changes. Make a record. Change your mindset from judgment of your worth to a record of the evolution of your writing skill. You’re not static. You’re improving with every word you write.
Shift 3: From “Someday I’ll Write” to “I Write Today”
Most writers have faced the thought that I’ll have more time in the future, more knowledge, more freedom, etc. We imagine a perfect future when we can write in perfect conditions and create the perfect story. If only the future turned out the way we imagined it would.
“Someday” writers never finish books. Stop waiting for the perfect time, the perfect conditions, or the perfect idea. Transform yourself into a “today” writer. Write a messy first draft. Write during lunch breaks or before the kids get up or on the bus trip home. Set a minimum word count (50-100 words) or time period (10-15 minutes) or days of the week, if that works for you. Follow through. Record your time or word count. Mark it on the calendar, or in a spreadsheet or a journal. Small consistent action beats future intentions every time.
Shift 4: From “I Work Alone” to “I Build Community”
The lone writer in the cold garret is a seductive and destructive myth. Community speeds a writer’s growth exponentially. This community is one of your peers, other writers of all skill levels. This means actively joining online or in-person writing groups, attending workshops, and engaging with other writers. It’s not networking—it’s building relationships with people who understand the writing life. When you’re stuck, ask for help. Share your struggles and your knowledge. Community can provide accountability, perspective, technical advice, resource lists, and emotional support. Make genuine connections to the most authentic version of yourself. Thriving as a writer isn’t about talent; it’s about your connections to supportive, growth-oriented communities.
Shift 5: From “Perfection First” to “Progress Over Perfection”
You can’t finish a first draft, or you rewrite your first chapters endlessly before you can continue to chapter two. You call it high standards, but it’s actually perfectionism.
A writer who “can handle this” is one who knows that systematic revision is where the story will shine. That writer will complete a messy draft, revise it and get feedback. Improve their draft and finish again.
Change your mindset from perfect to progress. Complete your imperfect manuscript. That progress means you are ahead of about 97% of people who start writing a novel. Published books aren’t perfect—they’re finished.
Shift 6: From “Comparison Kills” to “Others Inspire”
Seeing another writer’s success can lead to a downward spiral when you compare it to your own efforts. Your mindset becomes a version of “Why not me?”
Shift from “Why not me” to “What can I learn?” Success leaves clues. Analyze successful writers’ work. Did the author use a particular story structure? What marketing was done? Be curious. How did that author learn to write? Was this their first novel? Genuinely celebrate their wins. Their success isn’t your loss. It proves readers want stories. Lots of great stories. So learn what you can from their success, and write the next successful story.
Shift 7: From “Blocked Writer” to “Resting Writer”
People often discuss “Writer’s block” as a failure, an incurable disease, and an end to your career. Reframe it as your creative self needing rest, refilling, or different input. When words won’t come, shift activities: read, journal, play a musical instrument or dabble in some other creative interest you have. Take a walk. Go where you can enjoy and possibly find inspiration in nature. Get more sleep. Keep experimenting with activities until you recharge your creative self. Trust your process. Your creativity hasn’t dried up; it needs replenishing.
Shift 8: From “Industry Victim” to “Industry Student”
Rejection and the challenges of the publishing industry can create a victim mentality: “Publishers don’t want something new,” “They changed the algorithm again,” or “It’s all in who you know.”
Shift from the victim mentality to a student of the industry. Read Publishers Weekly and other reliable sources of industry news. Study what sells and what doesn’t. Learn about acquisition budgets, distribution vs distributor and fulfillment companies. You don’t have to be an expert, but you need a basic understanding of the industry, from strengths to weaknesses.
Shift 9: From “One-Book Wonder” to “Career Builder”
Pinning all your hopes on a single manuscript can crush you “Under Pressure,”(released in 1981 and sung by Queen and David Bowie). Instead of thinking in terms of a sprint to the bestseller list, think in terms of a marathon that includes multiple books and years, maybe decades, of time.
Most authors’ published debuts were not their first completed manuscripts. Sometimes your first published work doesn’t sell well until you have two or three or more books published. Each manuscript builds your skills and audience incrementally.
This means you are building a catalog of ideas and books. You might not publish your finished manuscript before you start your next one. You’re not buying a lottery ticket with your book; you’re building the blocks of a long-term career.
Shift 10: From “External Validation” to “Internal Compass”
Struggling writers often think they need an agent, or an award, or a certain number of followers on social media in order to feel and be successful. All of those things are outside your control. You are depending on other people to judge you “worthy.”
Ditch the external validation and shift your mindset by developing your own internal measure of success. Suddenly, you have a compass. Writing every day or finishing the manuscript means you’re successful. Writing about topics that fascinate or entertain you, even if they’re not trendy, makes you and your work valuable. You are self-validating. Then, when you get awards or other external validation, it enhances rather than defines your value.
How do you know if you’ve developed an internal compass that is self-validating? Ask yourself, if it never got published or read, would the writing still matter? If you answer yes, you’ve found your compass. Write from that place.
There’s a Pattern Here
Did you notice the pattern? It all has to do with self-talk. When you engage in negative self-talk, what are you focusing on? The negative stuff. It’s hurtful and harmful and makes it impossible to feel hopeful or learn because it’s all—so—negative.
Be kinder to yourself. It takes consistent practice to learn positive self-talk after years and years of negative thoughts. Yes, you’ll probably slip back into old habits. But you kept a record, tracking which mindsets you practiced and how much you’ve changed.
With practice, you get better at recognizing when you use negative statements. You get quicker at turning the negatives around. You learn you are more than all those negatives. You feel better, and you do better.
Celebrate
Celebrating your successes and your “I’ve learned this doesn’t work for me yet” moments. It’s encouragement that will keep you in the growth mindset. And remember, you might not be able to handle your challenges yet. But with consistent mindset work, you will. In fact, you’ll transform your entire creative life.
Which mindsets do you have or have you had? What have you done or are you doing to change it?
P.S.
I have to confess, pair of posts is for me as much as it is for anyone. When I started this pair of posts, I thought I had had an epiphany about helping others. I know I can handle things, and I choose to learn all about that thing and then move forward. However, if I’m being 100% honest with myself. I have a lot of fear that holds me back. So, I’m practicing what I preach.
I truly hope these two articles help you make the mindset shifts you need to make.
Resource: Psychology Today.
Featured image purchased from Deposit Photos by Vista Prints
Second image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
I feel so many of these! Weirdly, working with an AI has helped me with this because it will call me out on my mindset and suggest ways to switch it up. When I say, “I’d like to do that but I can’t,” it’ll happily say, “Let me show you how…” Now it will *probably* lead my down a rabbit hole into some other realm with no basis in reality, but it is surprising how many times even that has given me hope and ideas for solving what I had filed as “can’t”. And I’ve been adding “Can’t now, but can soon” as an option, too.
How wonderful that you have found a tool to help you get past the “i can’t.” And I absolutely love the “can’t now, but can soon” phrase! Thanks for sharing, Lisa.