We’ve covered many topics regarding what it means to be a self-aware writer, so I felt in today’s post, we’d look at some writing prompts you can use to help yourself on your self-awareness journey. You can add these as part of your morning pages, as part of a writing warm-up, or even to start a writer’s journal.
Let’s get started.
Prompt #1 – What Are My Strengths as a Writer?
Take the time to examine your writing skills and the areas where you excel. It can be one or a handful of things, but write each down and explain why you feel these are your strengths.
Prompt #2 – What Are My Weaknesses as a Writer?
This requires honesty and humility, but it’s important to tune into these areas and know what you can improve upon as a writer. We all have one or two pieces of the writing puzzle that we aren’t as strong in, and it is valuable insight to be aware of them.
Prompt #3 – How Can I Improve My Weaknesses as a Writer?
Now that you’ve identified your writing weaknesses, look for ways to improve. Can you practice those areas each day? Are there articles, books, videos, or online classes that can help you improve? Being proactive and working to improve will enhance your skills in these weaker areas and make you a stronger writer overall.
Prompt #4 – What Am I Currently Working on, and What are My Plans to Complete It?
Have you started a novel or screenplay? Outlines a short story? It’s time to sit down and map out how you’ll complete this project – rough draft or finished – within a specific time frame. Give yourself daily or weekly writing goals and a final deadline to have completed the project.
Having your plan written down allows you to hold yourself accountable for your goals and objectives. Part of being a self-aware writer is creating strategies and schedules to get the work done. This also allows you to reflect and change if you cannot meet your initial goals. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed; you may have to give yourself more time or break the work into smaller chunks to accomplish your goal.
Prompt #5 – What Does Success as a Writer Mean to Me?
This question may seem easy on the surface, but take the time to think about this one. Success means different things to different people, and while some may want fame and fortune, others may just want their self-help eBook available on Amazon. Whatever it means to you, writing it down and seeing it on the page is important. Is your definition attainable? Is it out of reach?
This leads to our final prompt…
Prompt #6 – What’s My Plan to Achieve Success as a Writer?
Much like having the plan to write your novel or screenplay, a writer must have self-awareness when planning out their pathway to success, whatever their definition may be.
You can write down a list of steps. You can create a vision board. You can make a plan with an accountability partner. You can write down several ways of approaching success and decide which you’ll try first.
Whatever you decide, take the time to really think about ways you can achieve your goals of writing success.
Next Time…
We’ve come to the end of our self-aware writer series. A thank you is coming next.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
