Believing You Can’t Be a Successful Writer Just Paves the Way For Those of Us Who Know We Can Be
In case you didn’t know.
Yeah, I said it. With you continuously telling yourself you can’t or you shouldn’t be a writer or that you don’t have the time, you’re making it easier for the rest of us who are past those excuses. You’re effectively filling the pockets of other writers. I don’t tell you this to be awful, I’m telling you this to light the fire under you to start your journey now.
So, Thanks for Thinning the Competition
The more writers there are who deny themselves of writing makes fewer writers we have to compete against within the industry. I’m not saying you don’t work hard. I’m just making you ask yourself: “are you working hard for something you really want”? You may be the best employee in the office; you are always willing to work overtime, you’re the main source of office morale, your manager adores you and your work ethic…
And this is fine if it’s for you; but if not, you should probably re-evaluate a few things. You could be the opposite of this corporate daydream where you fall out of bed each morning after hitting snooze 3+ times to drag yourself to your 9–5 in order to pay your phone bill so you can spend countless, unproductive hours scrolling through social media when you’re not at work.
Consider this is your kick in the butt to get writing.
While You Could Be Our Competition, You Can Also Be Our Colleague
Writers who have been at this for years have a line-up of clients they’ve interacted with throughout their career, but these experienced writers have the same amount of hours in a day as all of us. If they find they don’t have the time to commit, they will outsource to other writers they’ve built a good relationship with; i.e: you.
Let This Be Your Wake Up Call
Whatever you are thinking that is halting you from even trying, don’t listen to it. Maybe it is true. Maybe you are an awful writer. No one expects you to be Ernest Hemingway at the beginning. You could be Dr. Seuss to start (no hate to Dr. S, but he’s not exactly conducive to good content marketing…), wherever you are, think of that as the first step and keep walking.
Have I Made You Angry and Determined Enough Yet?
Yes? Good. Keep reading. No? No hard feelings; enjoy the 9–5. For those still with me, here are some ways to light the writing fire and keep it hot for pages to come:
Take Time Out Each Day to Write
It may be an overdone piece of advice, but it’s only overdone because it’s true, and can the truth ever really be overdone? You become a writer by writing, bottom line. Putting more time into writing gets your brain into that mode where ideas become stories and thoughts become words on a page.
It doesn’t matter if it is a poem, the beginning of a short story, or a dirty limerick; use your mind and create something. Get the juices flowing because once you get started it’s hard to quit.
Another advantage of writing every day is that the more content you produce, the more credibility you gain as a writer for other gigs. Having a portfolio is imperative when you are pitching for writing jobs. Quantity of writing pieces is important, which brings us to part b) of this point:
To Be a Good Writer, Prioritize Quality Over Quantity
However much time you spend on writing, consider spending double that time on editing what you’ve written. As mentioned in the last point, quantity is important but it should never take priority over the quality of your writing.
What sounds better, 20 articles of fluff and unhelpful content that wastes the reader's time? Or five informational and actionable articles that the reader can actually put to use? While the amount of content you produce is important, you need to make sure that there is a point to you writing it and even more importantly, your audience reading it.
Practice Positive Self-Talk
As someone who is guilty of engaging in negative self-talk, don’t. It gets you nowhere. Seriously, you won’t move by talking down to yourself and if you get anywhere, it’s in very little and inconsistent steps.
Trying writing positive notes on your bathroom mirror to read in the morning. Record an encouraging voice message on your cellphone to listen to when you aren’t feeling spectacular. Listen to self-improvement audiobooks while you fall asleep.
Don’t you want to move mountains? We want you to move mountains. So move mountains. It’s like the old saying, you can bring the writer to the mountain but you can’t make them move it…or something like that.
Read the Journeys of Other Writers
There are many books you can read from other writers who’ve beaten the barriers you are experiencing as a new writer. Medium, for instance, is filled with testimonials on how successful writers got started, especially on this platform but also in other places.
It definitely makes it easier when you hear that other writers had the same questions you do and had been experiencing the same doubt. You aren’t alone in experiencing imposter syndrome, just don’t let it overcome you and listen to the ones who came before you.
You Have a Simple Decision to Make
You have one life and one time to live it; no do-overs. How will you spend it? If you sincerely believe that writing is what you were put on this earth to do, whether it be creative writing, technical writing, or marketing, you need to work towards that goal. Living a life knowing your purpose and not pursuing it is one of the greatest sadnesses.
