Before I became a full-time adult, I studied psychology at Stanford University under some of the most incredible psychologists in the world and did years of psychology research. While I’m by no means an expert in the field, I picked up some pretty cool tricks for shaping my mindset to help me be more efficient and effective at what I do. And I’ve applied them to my career as a writer!
They might not work for you, but I thought I’d share them anyway in case you do find them helpful! The best part is that these tricks can work for literally whatever you choose to do, not just writing. 😊
1) Input goals
I talk about this briefly in this Twitter thread, but essentially, many of us make the mistake of setting output goals. E.g. I’m going to get an agent; I’m going to hit the NYT Bestseller List; I’m going to get a blurb from my favorite author.
The problem is: You can do literally everything you can, but those goals still require a healthy dash of luck and good circumstance—two things that are entirely out of your control. That’s just setting yourself up for disappointment, and it will cause you to dread writing.
Instead, set input goals. These are things that are entirely within your control, and which you can actively do something about. E.g. I’m going to write 500 words a day; I’m going to send out 4 queries every week; I’m going to read one craft book every month.
2) Minimum viable product
Okay this was something I learned not as a psychology student per se, but as a student at a university in the heart of Silicon Valley. Anyone working in product management or entrepreneurship knows this term. Minimum viable product (MVP) is the most basic, skeletal version of the product. It’s nowhere near perfect and beautiful, but it is a rough approximation that gives your target audience an idea of its full potential.
In a writing context: it’s okay if your first draft is crappy!! Done is better than perfect. Just grit your teeth, churn out your first draft, and send it off to beta-readers, instead of rewriting the seventh sentence in chapter 14 over and over again because it never sounds quite right.
3) Unlearning
As writers, we often hear about the best or the only way of doing something. Always show, not tell. Never use a prologue. Flashbacks slow down pacing. Don’t use adverbs. Avoid words like “felt”, “heard”, “saw” because they create distance.
And sometimes, many times, these rules work. But only in the right context! There are other contexts in which it’s better to contradict them. E.g. if you want to create distance between the character and reader, use filter words like “felt” and “heard”.
There’s no-one-size-fits-all approach to writing, so learn the rules, but don’t treat them as gospel. Know when to use them and when to unlearn them.
4) Inverse thinking
I often catch myself thinking: What can I do to become a better/faster/more efficient writer?
But that’s a really hard question to answer because it’s so broad! I’ve been trying to practice inverse thinking instead, by asking myself:
What’s stopping me from becoming a better/faster/more efficient writer?
Identifying the negatives in my life is the first step towards eliminating them.
5) Via Negativa
Linked to the above! Instead of thinking about what new tools/resources to get that will help you write better, think about what you can remove from your life to help you reach your goal.
Maybe going out every Friday night to party leaves you with a horrible hangover that prevents you from getting much writing done on the weekends. Accordingly, you might want to cut back on your Friday nights out.
6) Regret Minimization Framework
If you are afraid of becoming a writer, ask yourself: When I am 80, will I regret never trying to write a book?
7) Commitment bias
We hate giving things up because we hate wasting. That’s why us writers often struggle during revisions: we are loathe to delete characters/scenes/chapters even though we rationally know they aren’t necessary and might only bog down our book, because we’ve already invested so much time and effort into writing them.
I try to consciously ask myself: What is my ultimate goal? Is it to preserve this piece of witty banter that doesn’t actually drive the story forward, or is it to write a good book? That helps me overcome the emotional attachment I have to kill my darlings.
For more writing/publishing tips and tricks, subscribe to my author newsletter. Subscribers also get to read my pitch letter for my debut novel THE FRAUD SQUAD, which got 9 agent offers!
