Stages of Change and Creating Your Writing Success!

Edie here. Today I'm blown away to be able to introduce Margie Lawson as today's guest poster. I have been a fan of her writing instruction and inspiration for years and having her on The Write Conversation is a true bucket list moment for me! Not only that, but in March I'm going to have the opportunity to be on staff with with Margie and 5 other amazing industry professionals for “Polishing Your Mirror: Self-Care for Writers” Symposium, March 23-24. Be sure to give Margie a big TWC welcome!

Stages of Change and Creating Your Writing Success!

by Margie Lawson @MargieLawson

You know what you want to accomplish with your writing. And you know what you need to do to get there. But you’re not doing moving forward. You’re not meeting your goals.

What’s stopping you? What’s getting in your way?

Maybe you’re stuck in a stage of motivation and change.

You need to know where you are regarding change so you can move forward and create your success. Prochaska developed a model depicting six stages of motivation and change. 

Prochaska’s Stages of Motivation and Change:

• 1. Pre-contemplation: Not sure about change.

• 2. Contemplation: Seriously thinking about change.

• 3. Preparation: Doing things to prepare for the change. 

• 4. Action: Overtly engaged in change.

• 5. Maintenance: Continuing to change.

• 6. Termination: Reaching the goal.

It looks simple. Just move into the next stage, and the next, and the next. 

It’s a no-brainer. Right?

How many times have all of us fooled ourselves by flirting with change for weeks to months, maybe years, before activating the new behavior? Before doing what we’ve told ourselves we wanted to do? Before reading that goal?

Sometimes we never do that thing. Never reach that goal. But it gnaws on our self-esteem and contaminates other areas of our lives. 

These smart goals often seem too challenging.

Exercising? Eating right? Getting better sleep?

Writing? Meeting writing goals? Finishing your WIP?

Researching an agent? Submitting to an agent?

Learning how to self-pub? Self-publishing your book?

Have you ever looked back and wondered why the Holy Humperdincks it took you so long to finally do something? 

• Something you wanted to do. 
• Something you knew would be good for you.
• Something you knew would make you happy if you did it.

A writer told me she joined a writing organization, but didn’t get around to attending a meeting for years. Years. When she finally went, she got involved, developed close friends, and now couldn’t imagine her life without them and the writing group.

What locks us in the pre-contemplation, contemplation, and preparation stages for way What’s-wrong-with-me? too long?

Faulting thinking. 

People tell themselves self-defeating things and believe them, shrinking their self-concept and their lives.

What about you?

What changes do you want to make?

Who can you recruit to be your Change Coach? Not someone who would be more of an Enabling Coach. Someone who will support, encourage, nudge, call you on your junk, and celebrate with you big-time when you succeed. 

Let’s dig deeper into the stages of change. 

1. Pre-contemplation: Not sure about change 

• You’re probably beyond this stage with your main goal. But you may be in pre-contemplation for some others.

2. Contemplation: Seriously thinking about change.

• Are you here? Thinking? But not preparing for that change?
• What do you need to do to boost yourself into the next stage?
• What would that look like?

3. Preparation: Doing things to prepare for the change.

• What are you doing?
• What do you need to do to boost yourself into action? 

4. Action: Overtly engaged in change.

• Yay! You made it! 
• You’re excited. You’re proud. You’ve tapped into your steely self-discipline and you’re living your success. 

5. Maintenance: Continuing to change.

• It’s tough. It takes emotional energy to keep going.
• You need to work with your Change Coach. Check in daily?
• You need to set up rewards too. Celebrate the little wins and the big wins!

6. Termination: Reaching the goal. 

• You finished writing your book, or you got it published. You’re feeling fabulous! 
• Celebrate that huge win and start writing your next book!

Using these stages of change is just one way to help you reach your goals.

Think positively. Make good decisions. 

Get healthy and fit with things you can control with your body, mind, and emotions.

Think about what you want to do next. Where you want to go with your writing career. 

Discover more of who you are. Your strengths. The areas you can improve.

Take charge of your life. Think bigger. About your books, your writing career, your joy. 

Hopefully this piece about change has given you a cognitive kick into the change process. 

Never settle for less. 

The time is now. The change is you.

Learn more from Margie and six other amazing writers by attending the “Polishing Your Mirror: Self-Care for Writers” Symposium, March 23-24, 2024. Visit MindPotential.org for more info!

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Margie Lawson left a career in psychology to focus on another passion—helping writers make their writing bestseller strong. Using a psychologically based deep-editing approach, Margie teaches writers how to bring emotion to the page. A popular international presenter, Margie’s taught over 180 full day master classes in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and France. And she’s taught over 200 five-day intensive Immersion Master Classes in the U.S. and Australia. 

She founded Lawson Writer's Academy where you’ll find over 30 instructors teaching online courses through her website. And you’ll find lots of webinars on her website too. She developed 35 webinars that share her deep editing techniques and more! Visit www.margielawson.com.