Why Our Writing Requires Mental Strength
A look into how and what we write.
Without a doubt, I have written a lot of articles over the past several years as a writer. Some articles I had a lot of fun with and others not so much. Some of them were for clients and others were solely for me and my benefit.
No doubt writing is therapeutic, but if there is one thing that I know about writing is that if you want to be a good writer, a truly good writer, you need to have mental strength.
Through my writing career, I’ve learned to embrace reading other peoples work. In the beginning, I hardly ever did this.
“Other writers are my competition.”
“They’re the ones stealing my readers.”
That’s how I truly thought which now doesn’t make sense. I mean sure some blogs get more readers than others but articles are consumed differently than traditional goods and services.
But that line of thinking denied me a key thing that I believe all writers need to learn:
It’s better to embrace others writing and form your style from that than to have no reference point at all.
And that takes a lot of mental strength. You need to be looking past how many impressions and success this writer has and look at what they are actually writing about and how they write it.
And that’s not easy. We can easily delve into the numbers and be obsessed with them. We can start comparing our work to others and use that to sabotage our skill and development. Our brain can and will force us out of trying to do something as soon as we show some level of doubt or hesitation.
Mental strength also determines what we actually write about and how we write it. I recall at the beginning of my writing career all I ever wrote about was me. Sure it was on my personal blog, but the blog is also designed to help people.
Because that’s what I truly wanted to do.
Since then my writing has changed. For sure I still talk about myself like I am now, but I see that as character building. This article is not all about me but rather how I can help you.
In the beginning, I was desperate. And those emotions guided the topic as well as the tonne I took. In the end, the writing was poor quality and looking back at the articles I would certainly laugh at how sloppy they were.
Today, it’s different. I’m not in massive desperation mode and it allows me to figure out what and how I wish to write. This has helped me to figure out more about my niche and where I stand as a writer.
And you need to know those things because it tells you what your next step is. When we look beyond comparison, excuses, and other outside pressures and begin to focus on the writing itself and where we truly stand in all that, our experience as a writer begins to grow. We learn about how we can grow as a writer; how we can stop feeling jealous or angry when comparing our work and results with others; and what is the best niche and platform for us to grow and thrive in.
But the most important thing is we learn how we can deliver. As I said, our emotions guide the topic and the tonne. If you’re desperate for something and you see writing as your only solution your actions will be more rash and scattered. It’s only when you learn to calm yourself on a deep level where you can begin to see the work and the craft as a means to grow and thrive. And that takes a lot of mental strength.
So there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a writers mind. It’s easy for any person to put out a post and let their emotions take the wheel entirely. But if you do that, it might not get you very far. For sure, articles need emotion, but it’s those emotions that guide a writer’s fingers and hands.
If you’re too emotional, your writing will be scattered.
If you’re defensive or angry, you’ll instinctively write long-winded paragraphs.
But if we are calm and collected, we have a clearer idea of what we can write about and begin to pour our genuine self into the article. We’ll start to feel more personable. And if we pick up some writing strategies from other writers, we’ll toss some in there for good measure.
And those emotions will always appear in both the writing process but also the finished product. I know for myself I’ve had a tendency to edit while I am writing. I’m changing that by allowing myself to sit on the subject. I spend time figuring out what and how I wish to present things.
I know my writing still has a long way to go, but I’m happy with the rate that it is progressing. It’s a matter of continuing to practice. Learning how to set aside negative emotions and strengthen yourself emotionally while you write.
Because in the end, writing is a mind game as well. As a writer we don’t need to be conservative, but rather to be strong and stand behind the words that we said. So if we truly believe the words that we are writing about, we need to be in a state of mind that is genuine and calm.
How to get there is entirely up to you. Each writer’s journey is different and how they solve their problems is different too. Some need to play video games while others might need to pace or meditate. Whatever the case may be, find a ritual that’ll help you clear your mind and focus on writing.
This is the path to a stronger mind while you write.
