In the previous weekday episodes, we have talked about activities that will help you maintain a growth mindset as writer. We began with preparing the soil of your mind, which in practical terms means getting around other people who will encourage and motivate you. Then we moved to planting, which is keeping track of your ideas. After that, we discussed how to water those ideas through reading. We moved on to pruning, which is eliminating the dead weight from your schedule and life so you can focus your energy on growth-producing activities.

Now we come to harvesting, which is simply creating the words. The three previous actions, if you do them consistently, make it much easier to write. You have probably noticed in your own life that it’s much harder to write if you don’t have ideas, you’re not exploring curiosity through reading, and you’re too busy to write.

Harvesting as a concept couldn’t be any simpler. You simply go to the field, get the crop, and bring it to the barn for processing. In writing terms, it means you must sit down and produce the words.

If there is one universal truth in writing, it is this: the words won’t write themselves. This means you need to set aside time each day to write. It’s that simple, and also that difficult.

A growing writer is an intentional writer. When you plant the seeds, water them with reading, prune unnecessary activities, and harvest your words, you have joined an illustrious club known as “writers who get things done.”

The price of admission to the club? Nurturing a growth mindset and doing what is needed to produce the crop.