Writing Help That Comes From Your Inner Self
By Andrea Waggener

Writing help is all around you. You can find books, courses, and articles to give you writing help. And all of this is valuable. But the most valuable writing help you can get is the writing help you give yourself.

Your mind is your most powerful writing helper. More specifically, your mind’s ability to visualize is your most powerful helper.

You have a choice about where you put your mind’s focus. You can either think about how tough your writing path will be or you can think about the success you want.

If you’re focused on the fact that you’re not writing, on the fact that you’re not selling, you are giving your mind pictures of failure. And you’ll act accordingly. You’ll find excuses not to write. You’ll get distracted from your path.

But if your mind is filled with images of success, you’ll naturally start taking success actions. You’ll write daily. You’ll eagerly submit your work. You’ll learn and take courses.

Do you see how this works?

Here are four methods of visualizing writing success:

1. Take at least five minutes a day to relax and visualize with your eyes closed. The best times of day are right after you wake up in the morning and just before bedtime. This is when your mind is the most relaxed and the most receptive to suggestion.

Find a quiet place. Sit or lie down (sit if you think you might fall asleep if you lie down), and close your eyes. Now focus on your breathing—on the deep inhale into your abdomen and on the deep exhale. Count backwards from 10 to 1, one full breath per count.

Now paint a picture in your mind of what you want your success to look like. Focus on the details. You can use one or all of your senses to do this.

You can just see what you want. Picture your book, for example, on the New York Time’s Bestseller’s List.

You can feel or smell what you want. Feel the slick cover of your newly published novel.

You can hear it. Listen to the accolades you’re receiving for your writing.

You can taste it. Imagine the food at a banquet given in your honor when you win an award for your writing.

Use all your senses if possible, but if one is stronger than others, that’s okay. Focus on that one.

Stay with the image as long as you can, then let it fade away. Breathe quietly for a few moments and open your eyes.

2. Use daydreaming visualization.

When you’re driving, doing dishes or other housework, walking or doing other exercise—any time your mind wanders, get it to wander to writing success you want.

We all have a tendency to let our thoughts wander to the negative stuff in our lives. Like I said, we worry. We obsess. We chew on our problems.

Spend your time thinking about being successful instead of spending your time worrying or obsessing over things you don’t want in your life.

3. Write the story of your success.

Write out a detailed story of the success you want. Write it in either third or first person. Tell a compelling story of how you went from where you are to where you want to be. Describe your triumphs. Describe your success. When you’re finished, keep the story handy so you can read it often.

4. Read about other people’s successes. (This is a lazy, and fun, way to visualize). Read biographies and listen to interviews of people who have achieved what you want to achieve in your life.

When you practice visualization in any of these ways, you’ll be giving yourself what you need to succeed. You’ll be giving yourself powerful writing help.