Mental Models for Writers

models have been used for centuries in just about every field other than writing

an angled paint brush to paint corners. They make the job so much easier.

Mental Models Represent How We Think

Put simply, a mental model is a framework of thinking to help you solve a particular problem.

The tools we writers need to build careers in today’s world of publishing are 99 percent mental. Mental models, to be precise.

The result is that we stumble our way through the writing life, with no real rhyme or reason about how or why we do things. When we achieve success, and people ask us how we became successful, we give answers like “work really hard,” “or just keep writing,” or “write crappy first drafts.”

want a little structure, how do you do it?

How do you decide what book to write?

How do you open a chapter?

How do you make readers care about a character?

How do you write a novel? Ask a million writers, you’ll get a million different answers.

there’s a tool for every job, and finding it is half the work.

As I grew older, his “handiness” was lost on me. Hey, I’m a writer. What would you expect?