Are you ignoring your mindset type?
Imagine this: You walk into your neighborhood gym. Bright lights. Rows of machines. And then he appears—your personal trainer.
His name is Chad.
“All right,” he says. “Here’s your plan: Wake up at 5:00 a.m., work the treadmill for three miles, no excuses. Don’t think—just do!”
You try to follow the plan. For a while. But then life throws something at you—a sick child, a stressful week, an unexpected crisis—and it all falls apart. You can’t keep up. And you start to wonder: What’s wrong with me?
Maybe… you’re not the problem.
Because this—this exact setup—is how most writers are trying to build a writing life.
And it’s failing them.
What If It’s Not You? What If It’s Your Mindset Type?
If you’re struggling in your writing career with anything, it might not be a personal failing. It might just be that you got your instructions from Chad. Or someone like him.
You’ve probably heard advice like:
- Write every day no matter what.
- Outline your novel before you start. People who don’t outline are stupid.
- Join a sprint. Make a checklist. Hit that word count.
And maybe you’ve tried all that. But none of it worked for you.
Why?
Because different writers need very different things to stay creative and consistent.
And here’s the truth no one’s talking about:
“Writing success does not start with discipline.”
That might surprise you. I’m a big advocate of discipline. I’m a disciplined person. I think it helps. But writing success? It doesn’t start there.
It starts with mindset.
The Missing Piece: Your Writer Mindset Type
More specifically, it starts with your mindset type. The way your creative brain naturally operates.
Didn’t think you had a mindset type? You do.
And when you understand it, you can stop fighting yourself and start building habits, routines, and writing rhythms that actually work for you.
That’s why I created a free quiz to help writers discover their mindset type. It’s short. It’s insightful. And it might explain why your writing progress has felt so frustrating lately.
Take the quiz here.
Meet Rowan
Rowan’s been working on the same novel for three years. She’s rewritten the beginning six times. Started over twice. Filled multiple notebooks with worldbuilding.
She can see the whole story in her head—big sweeping arcs, emotional payoffs, even the last scene. But when it comes time to choose how to tell it?
She freezes.
She’s tried all the advice:
- Just outline it.
- Follow this structure.
- Pick a version and push through.
But none of it works. The structure feels confining. The word count pressure overwhelms her. And the more pressure she feels, the more stuck she becomes.
She starts to wonder if she’s even cut out for this.
But Rowan doesn’t have a discipline problem.
She has a mindset that needs vision and space, not external pressure.
What actually works for Rowan? Narrowing her focus to one clear story goal. Using visual or spatial planning tools (instead of rigid outlines). Creating flexible idea “parking lots” so she doesn’t feel like she’s losing anything.
When Rowan starts to understand how her brain works, the fog lifts. And she can finally build a process that feels exciting and sustainable.
Meet Theo
Then there’s Theo. Theo finishes what he starts. He’s organized. He plans every scene. He builds outlines and sticks to a writing schedule.
Until something throws him off.
Once it was a sick child. Another time, a chaotic month at work.
Suddenly, his routine breaks. And with it, his momentum.
He beats himself up. Then he tries to dive back in, but it feels like the magic’s gone. So the story just sits there.
Everyone tells him, “Just get back in the chair and start writing again!”
But for Theo, the words don’t come.
Because he’s not just dealing with lost time—he’s dealing with mental disorganization. His system is fractured, and that rattles him.
He starts to wonder: Was I ever really a writer, or just good at pretending?
The problem isn’t Theo’s discipline. It’s that his system wasn’t built to recover from chaos.
What would help Theo?
- Reset rituals to clear the clutter and rebuild trust in his process.
- A way to track partial wins so one missed week doesn’t feel like total failure.
- A more flexible system that helps him manage life’s upsets without losing the thread of his story.
Once Theo understands how his mind works, those interruptions stop feeling like deal-breakers. He stops blaming himself. And he starts working with his mindset, not against it.
Stop Blaming Yourself. Start Aligning with Your Mindset Type
Rowan and Theo aren’t failing because they aren’t trying.
They’re struggling because they’re following systems that don’t fit.
When we figure out the type of mindset we have and the kind of processes that allow us to work at our highest level, nothing can stop us.
Our routines feel more natural. We recover faster from setbacks. And we finally realize: This isn’t about willpower.
It’s about alignment.
Give the Quiz a Try!
If you’re stuck in some kind of creative boot camp, yelling at yourself to hustle harder and wondering why you’re resisting it, it’s not weakness. It’s probably just misalignment.
Take the free quiz, discover your unique writer mindset type, stop fighting yourself, and start building a writing life that fits you.
Click here to take the quiz.
And be sure to come back for the next post in this series, where I’ll share how to spot your biggest mindset traps, and what to do about them.
Until then, don’t write like Chad.
Write like you.