 Hello, hello writers. I'm Christine Kiefer, author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources And you are listening to the well-sturried podcast where I share insights, encouragement, and actionable advice designed to help you craft sensational novels and build your best writing life Always in 30 minutes or less so you can get back to writing of course. Ready for the show? Let's get talking Welcome or welcome back to another episode of the well-sturied podcast writers Today is Friday, January 10th, and this is our first podcast episode of the new year I had fully intended to publish today's article and podcast episode for you last Friday But man between the holiday season and the book launch last week the launch of build your best writing life I was exhausted and I never quite got around to finishing today's episode. So today here we have it Here it is. We are talking about how to build your best writing life in 2020 if you would like to read along as you listen in you can head on over to well-sturied calm slash best writing life All right, let's dive in Are you ready to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be in your writing life? Last week I published build your best writing life my first full-length book for writers This book breaks down each of the essential strategies that have helped me slowly But surely work to become the writer. I want to be over the past five years Strategies that are continuing to help me achieve this aim today With the new year upon us. It's time. We start taking action to turn our resolutions into realities If it's your goal to build a writing life you love in 2020 or if you're listening in from the future in any year or at any time Then I'd love to break down the foundational strategies. I share in my new book with you today The process of building a writing life you love rests on four cornerstone endeavors Honing a healthy creative mindset Building a writing practice you can sustain working with intention to improve your writing skills and Developing your roadmap to personal writing success Why is each of these endeavors so important and what can you do to achieve them in the year to come? Let's dig into all four of these foundational strategies together writer a First strategy number one hone a healthy creative mindset Do you struggle to put pen to paper and finish your projects despite wanting so desperately to write? Then you've encountered resistance The internal force that weaponizes your doubts Fears and limiting beliefs against you in an attempt to keep you from taking difficult action Make no mistake Writing is difficult work There's no writer in this world who doesn't struggle to put words on the page from time to time or Most of the time for that matter But just because writing isn't often easy doesn't mean it can't be joyous and fulfilling To access these positive feelings you must lean into the difficulty of the writing life You must pick up the pen and do the hard work But how can you do so when resistance comes to call? To oppose the pool of resistance You must first recognize that doubt isn't your creative enemy Doubt is merely indicative of uncertainty and you can always take action to resolve Uncertainty in your writing life no matter how big or small For example doubt is that line not quite right? Action restructure the sentence and analyze your word choice Doubt is my writing good enough to land a book deal action Seek constructive criticism on your manuscript to ensure it is the best that it can be before you query Taking action to resolve doubt isn't always easy But the alternative is to allow resistance to twist your doubts into limiting beliefs such as That line sounds so dumb. I'm a terrible writer or I can't compete with other authors. No publishing house will ever offer me a deal Can you see how quickly limiting beliefs can derail your creative confidence? If you're already struggling with these or other limiting beliefs Concerning your skills or stories, then it's time to give yourself a pep talk Listen to your thoughts the next time you tell yourself something negative about your writing life Counter that limiting belief with a positive affirmation I'm a terrible writer can become I'm as good a writer as I work to be so I'm going to work hard to improve my skills I can't compete with other writers can become Writing isn't a competition. There's room enough for every writer and every story When you counteract your limiting beliefs with words of truth and take action to resolve your doubts You seize the high ground in the battle against resistance You learn to cultivate the healthy creative mindset you need to build a writing life you love strategy number two build a writing practice you can sustain If you wait for inspiration to strike before putting pen to paper You will forever struggle to become the writer you want to be Inspiration is a powerful source of creative energy, but it's also fleeting Had it on the other hand can provide the consistency you need to make steady progress in Forming your writing dreams into realities When building a writing habit or practice as I often prefer to call consistent creative effort You must set boundaries you can sustain for months or years to come Often this involves prioritizing progress over productivity Stephen King might write 2,000 words a day, but if this goal isn't feasible for you Or if it would result in writing burnout Then it isn't a practice you can sustain More often than not the most sustainable writing habits focus on input rather than output Can you devote 15 minutes a day to writing? Or three hours over the course of a week? Big writing gains be damned Slow, but steady progress is the key to long-term writing success Additionally the more consistency you can build into your writing practice the better Work to create this consistency where you can Can you write in the same place every time you pick up the pen? Or at the same hour? Can you listen to the same instrumental soundtrack or drink the same cup of tea? These conditions might seem trivial, but they can trigger your brain to dive deep into the Write frame of mind Strategy number three work with intention to improve your writing skills No one crafts incredible stories or perfect prose the first time they sit down to write Like painting or playing an instrument writing is a craft that can and must be learned Each time you put words on the page you naturally become a better writer through practice But you can improve in your writing more quickly if you work with intention to hone your skills To achieve the same you can take several helpful approaches First you can study the craft Learning how to develop well-rounded characters Structure your stories weave themes through your narrative and more You can also read critically Analyzing the stories you consume to see how other writers craft or fail to craft compelling stories Another essential way to improve in your craft is to seek feedback from editors beta readers and or critique partners Often you're simply too close to your writing to recognize some of the areas in which it needs improvement Receiving constructive criticism can help you bridge this gap But to intentionally improve your writing and storytelling skills most effectively It's important that you first define your strengths and weaknesses in the craft Knowing where you would most benefit from improvement Can help you work with greater intention to become the writer you want to be And finally strategy number four Develop your roadmap to writing success There is no right way to be a writer Though many writers dream of publishing a bestseller or building a career as a full-time author These dreams don't have to be your dreams To build your best writing life. You must identify what writing success means to you Outside of all the external influences that work to convince you that you can only be a Real writer if you achieve x y or z So tell me writer What do you want from your writing life? It's okay to dream big Stake your claim on every wild fantasy you hold for your work But take time to also consider your honest writing ambition What you want from your writing life that is largely within your realm of control to achieve Winning the newberry medal or having your book adapted for film are possibilities But you can't make an action plan to achieve these goals However, you can create a plan to land an agent Build a thriving career as an indie author or travel the world writing short stories in every country you visit To develop such a plan a roadmap to personal writing success Consider the first major goal you'll need to achieve If you want to build a thriving career as an indie author, for example, you must first publish your debut novel From there repeatedly break your goal down into smaller tasks Until you reach a simple action step you can take every day or week Then place your focus on taking that action step alone This is how you avoid overwhelm and slowly but surely turn your writing dreams into realities Write for 30 minutes every day and you'll one day finish the first draft of your book Repeat this process to revise your novel then spend time each week thereafter completing at least one publishing task Before you know it you'll be celebrating the release of your first book From there simply recreate your writing roadmap with your next big goal in mind Creating your writing roadmap can provide the clarity and focus you need to achieve your personal definition of writing success But at the end of the day know that your best writing life isn't waiting just over the horizon It's here It's now Your best writing life lives in your commitment to the craft In the fulfillment you feel in wrapping up a difficult writing session And in the joy of realizing that you're a better writer today than you were yesterday It's in the privilege to pursue work you love And the courage you exhibit in seizing that opportunity In picking up the pen In the simple act of writing If you enjoyed today's episode of the podcast I think you would enjoy my brand new book for writers build your best writing life If there is a gap between where you are and where you want to be in your writing life Then this is the book for you By the end of build your best writing life You'll know how to harness the simple techniques that can help you win your inner creative battles Finish projects you can be proud to share with the world And work with focus to turn your writing dreams into reality To grab your copy of build your best writing life today Simply visit well-storied.com slash b y b w l That link will be for you in today's episode description as well Now let's make 2020 our best year in writing yet friends Happy writing Thank you for listening to today's episode of the podcast writer I hope you found it helpful to your writing journey If so, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode And to give the podcast a quick rating and review Doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers And lets me know that you're enjoying what i'm creating You can also give me a shout out directly on twitter at christen underscore keeper For additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing life Be sure to head on over to www.well-storied.com Where I share blog posts, workbooks, e-courses and other helpful resources for writers Again, that's w-e-l-l-s-t-o-r-i-e-d.com Thank you again for tuning in to today's episode my friend until next time Happy writing