The Power of Author Affirmations: How to Use Them to Boost Your Writing Mindset
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If you want to be a successful writer, then it's important to have the right mindset. This means believing in yourself and your abilities, and being positive about the process of writing. One way to boost your writing mindset is by using affirmations.
Affirmations are positive statements that you repeat to yourself on a regular basis. They can help you stay focused and motivated, and keep your mind open to new ideas. In this post, the first of a five-part series, I'll discuss the power of author affirmations, and how you can use them to feel more positive about your writing.
An Introduction to Affirmations
There are a few things to keep in mind when you're creating affirmations. First, they should be specific to your goals. For example, if you're working on maintaining a writing schedule, your affirmation might be "I enjoy writing every day."
Second, affirmations should be stated in the present tense, as if they're already true. Notice in the above example I said, "I enjoy writing every day", not "I will write every day this week." The word "will" introduces the tiniest bit of doubt. This short word allows you to say to yourself, "But will I?" So, make sure you write your affirmations in the present like they are true right now.
Third, try to make the affirmations short and concise so they are easy to remember. This way you can repeat them to yourself throughout the day, and they'll become part of your subconscious mind. The more your brain hears something (whether that's out loud or in your head) the more it finds whatever you are saying to be true. That's why negative self-talk is so damaging. We want to use affirmations to overcome all that negativity.
If you want to learn more about affirmations and how to use them effectively, I highly recommend the book Train Your Brain by Dana Wilde. This book isn't specifically for writers, but it's a comprehensive, easy to follow resource about affirmations. Dana has grown her own business in amazing ways using affirmations.
Why I Use Affirmations
At the end of 2019, I started working very seriously on my mindset. After taking a class with Becca Syme of the Write Better Faster Academy, I learned about my strengths (based on the CliftonStrengths test) and how to use them as a writer. I also learned how damaging some of the things I was saying to myself were.
I started using affirmations and doing the work I needed to do to see myself as a writer. In 2021, I wrote nine books as a result of all this work, and I continue to use affirmations today. Working on my mindset is an ongoing process. Using author affirmations doesn't mean everything is smooth sailing all the time, mindset will always take work for me.
Affirmations to Help You Stay Motivated to Write
While creating affirmations for my writing career, I discovered five main areas I wanted to focus on: writing, editing, productivity, publishing, and marketing. They are all related, yet require slightly different affirmations. Today's post focuses on affirmations for writing. Here are the nine writing affirmations I've included in my Author Affirmations card deck:
Writing is a piece of cake.
Writing brings me joy every day.
I write the stories I want to read.
Each book I write is better than the last.
I write the stories I love and have fun doing it.
The world needs to read my stories. Keep going!
I recognize and showcase my characters' desires.
I have an endless supply of amazing ideas.
I’m grateful for supportive and caring writing friends.
Something that's not often discussed when it comes to affirmations is that they must also feel good. I learned this from reading Train Your Brain. If you read any of the above affirmations and think nope, then adjust it so it feels happy and right to you. Manifesting our dreams should feel good!
On the back of each Author Affirmations card, I've included a fun photo you can use as a writing prompt to warm up at the beginning of a writing session, to inspire you, or just for fun. Here's the photo on the back of the "Writing is a piece of cake" card.
The takeaway from all this is that if you want to improve your writing career, using affirmations can help. Choose a few that resonate with you and see how they change your mindset. I'm confident you'll be surprised at how much better you feel about yourself as a writer. And when you feel good, the writing flows more easily. So give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Happy writing!
Do you use affirmations? What are some of your favorites? Let me know in the comments below! And if you liked this post, please share it with your fellow writers. We can all benefit from a little boost to our writing mindset!
Read part 2 here and find out how affirmations can help you while editing.
