Embrace Growth Mindset to Become a Phenomenal Writer
Today, I’m gonna tell you a bit of an embarrassing story.
While I’m not proud of this story, it illustrates a crucial lesson and truth about writing and really, life in general.
If you’ve ever struggled with self-doubt around your writing or asked yourself, “How can I become a better writer and make readers love my work?” this video is for you.
Here’s the story:
I’ve always been an obsessive reader. You can probably relate. I love stories and have always prided myself on having good taste in writing and storytelling (to my detriment sometimes).
In one of my first creative writing workshops in college, I read a short story by another young writer and thought, “Wow, this story is rough. How are they ever going to make this better?”
There were cliches, it was overwritten, and the characters, to me, felt like stereotypes. Plus, the grammar left something to be desired.
To my prideful, fixed-mindset, 18-year-old-brain, the situation for this writer was hopeless. To be frank, I also probably wanted to make myself feel better about my own wobbly short story, but that’s a psychology lesson for another day.
Of course, I gave this writer the best feedback I could and treated them with kindness. Though I’m not proud that I judged them so harshly in my head on a first draft so early in our writing careers.
Flash forward two years later, this writer and I are again in the same workshop. Once again, it’s their turn to pass around writing for peer feedback.
My friend… I was blown away by this writer’s story. The gorgeous personal essay this writer turned in was in my opinion, the best piece of undergraduate writing I’d read up to that point.
It sticks in my mind to this day as one of the most memorable essays I’ve ever read. The images, metaphors, and characters were SO resonant. Fourteen years later, I still think about that essay.
And I wasn’t the only one in the workshop who felt that way. The students as well as the professor were all blown away.
It makes one wonder: What happened?
How did a writer who was struggling to write a simple short story blossom into writing one of the most resonant essays of the semester?
Very, very simple: They practiced. They read great work. They took feedback. They got better. They evolved. They grew.
Many of us assume you must be born with a high degree of natural talent to become a great writer. That you have to be gifted by the gods before you can write work that moves people.
It’s not true! Rather than being gifted with a finite supply of talent and skill, we are born with potential.
And all of us have potential. If you have a desire to write stories, that’s all the proof you need to know you have the potential to be a great writer.
Psychologist Carol Dweck calls this idea the Fixed vs. Growth mindset.
The fixed mindset believes that you’re born with a certain amount of talent and skill, and that amount is fixed.
Dweck says, “In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail—or if you’re not the best—it’s all been wasted.”
The growth mindset, on the other hand, champions the idea that skills, aptitude, and mastery can be developed, and aren’t necessarily based on natural gifts. This mindset prioritizes growth, learning, and “failing forward” over achievement.
Dweck writes, “The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome. They’re tackling problems, charting new courses, working on important issues.”
And isn’t that way better than empty achievement? Isn’t a meaningful journey better than using every “shitty draft” as proof that you’re failing as a writer? I say yes.
You can dive deeper into this theory in Dweck’s book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
And don’t beat yourself for believing the fallacy of the “Fixed Mindset.” Our culture LOVES to tell stories about prodigies and superhumans who are naturally gifted or chosen by the gods.
There are countless stories about “The Chosen One,” also called “The Messianic Archetype.” These are stories about the one who’s come to save the world and conquer evil. Think Alina Starkov from the new Netflix series Shadow & Bone, Harry Potter, Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars, Neo from The Matrix, and of course, the most famous chosen one, Jesus Christ himself.
All of these characters are chosen and gifted with certain abilities that help them save the world, bring balance to the force, and conquer evil.
Don’t get me wrong. I love this archetype and it’s a great tool for storytelling… evidenced by me binge-watching Shadow & Bone in one night. 😬
AND, these stories can still send a subliminal message that if we’re not the chosen one, we’re not special. We’re ordinary, and we shouldn’t try to do extraordinary things because we weren’t chosen or born with special talents.
The truth is, we’re all extraordinary. We’re all the “chosen one” in our own stories. We all have the gift of potential.
But potential is useless unless you grow. And to grow, you’ve gotta show up. You’ve gotta engage with the work.
Not in a “burn yourself out and suffer for your art” kinda way. In a “take responsibility for your own life and gifts and engage” kinda way.
Remember my story from college? That was the first time I saw a novice writer blossom into a full-blown, powerful essayist who moved people with their writing. They were absolutely not the last.
For the last fourteen years, I’ve taken countless workshops and watched my peers evolve, become better writers, and get published.
As a writing teacher and coach, I’ve taught countless writing workshops and I’ve watched my students evolve, become better writers, and get published.
I’ve also seen many writers give up because rejection or tough feedback was simply too painful.
But if you’re here with me right now, I’m guessing that’s not you.
I bet you’re feeling some relief: I don’t have to be a natural talent?! I can get better with practice?
You sure can! And here’s how:
Captain Your Craft!
Now that you have a growth mindset and know that evolution is a higher priority than end-goal achievements, you can step into the captain’s chair of your own creative development.
Take responsibility for slowly, over time, becoming a better writer. Engage with the learning and growth process. Become a curious explorer of your personal craft. This is a pathway to make writing more joyful and less painful.
Here are 3 ways to take responsibility of your creative growth and captain your craft:
Read books on craft or memoirs from your favorite writers and actually do the exercises. Here are a few I love:
Story Genius by Lisa Cron
Free Within Ourselves by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Damn Fine Story by Chuck Wendig
Read, watch, or listen to stories like a writer.
Ask curious questions: What kind of feedback are you getting on your writing? What feels like it’s missing from your story? Where are you getting stuck on a craft level? What are you confused about?
Grab your favorite book in a similar genre or style to what you’re writing and study how the author solves those problems. Markup the text, highlight, use sticky notes, or whatever system works for you to reverse engineer that author’s genius. This isn’t about mimicry, it’s about looking at the craft moves and choices a writer makes to solve the universal problems we all face as writers. I’ll share a full training on this topic next week, so keep an eye out for my best tips on how to read like a writer so you can become a better writer.
Join a writing workshop to get mentorship and community support.
While writing may be a solitary activity, it is not a solitary vocation. All your favorite writers recruited mentors, joined writing groups, and invested in their craft in some way.
They wholeheartedly embraced the growth mindset and recruited others to help. They captained their craft by engaging with other writers and teachers who could give objective feedback on their work and hold them accountable when things got hard.
According to a study by the Association for Talent Development, regular accountability appointments increase your chances of achieving a goal by 95%! For example, if you have a goal to write a book, you’re 95% more likely to accomplish that goal when you have regular accountability meetings with a mentor or peer.
If you’re looking for mentorship and community, I’ve got you covered. I’d love to work with you on your story in a free, 40-minute, private Make It Shine Assessment.
We’ll review your story manuscript or idea together on a Zoom call. I’ll share the specific next steps to revise and edit your story. And you’ll learn what’s working well and identify areas of weakness so you can make it solid, make it shine, and make it ready for publication.
After the assessment, you’ll feel confident and clear so the writing just flows onto the page and you’re motivated to stick with it all the way to publication.
This assessment functions as a “test drive” to see if we’d be a good fit to work in my group program, The Joyful Writers Workshop: Find Your Flow, Finish Your Writing Projects, & Free the Creative Writer Inside. Don’t worry, there’s no pushy pitch –– it’s just a chat to see if the workshop can help you reach your highest writing goals. And remember, accountability with a mentor increases your chances of success by 95%.
Book your Make It Shine Assessment now at reneelongwrites.com/assessment.
I can’t wait to see you there!
That’s all from me today. Thanks so much for reading, and write on!