How to Overcome the Fear of Your Writing Not Being Good Enough

It’s time to talk about a common fear when it comes to your writing, you see, many people fear that their writing isn’t good enough, and this, holds them back in their writing. If this is something you fear, it’s time to get over it – it’s time to jump over the barrier!

Fearing you’re not good enough is a common fear in life. Some experience such fears every day, in many things that they do. As a writer, I’ve felt such fears myself, fears that have often been fueled further by others. I’ve lacked support and guidance previously, even by peers who I respected but I soon realized that I MUST make the change if I wanted to get over my fear of not being good enough.

That’s easier said than done, but I can draw on my experience to help you overcome this by sharing the steps I took to overcome my fear of not being good enough. Sometimes, there are misconceptions out there that make us believe things that are not necessarily true, so let’s explore these things:

1. Upskill – now, when you’re a writer, you’re constantly learning. We have to learn different ways of describing, how to use speech, and different types of language techniques. The truth is, we can always improve so make it your mission to develop your skills. One way to do this is by editing, reading, or self-improvement with training or education. Another way, is by accepting and receiving feedback, even if it’s not exactly what you want to hear.
2. Assessing Feedback – you’ll have heard me say this before, but I can’t express the importane of valid feedback. On occasion, you may need feedback too, but you have to learn to accept and act upon this effectively. For instance, there are occasions when people will be nasty about your writing – this is not productive, so pay it no mind. Other times, people may give you constructive feedback, and you may feel it attacks you. Our own writing can make us emotional because we are attached to it. Be careful, not to take offence when feedback is constructive. Try to distance yourself and take an outside perspective – imagine, what would you say if you were feeding back to a person? Ask yourself, are the comments valid or malicious? It’s important to learn from what others tell you!
3. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others – this is the biggest mistake made by ALL OF US! We constantly compare ourselves to others. Well here is the shocking truth – if you want to measue improvement, you should only measure yourself against yourself. It’s actually amusing that so many people believe that their audience want more of the ‘same’. You don’t have to write like Shakespeare, or other writers that you admire. You simply have to write to your audience, in your own voice, and develop your own craft. Especially in non-fiction, people want YOU and YOUR writing in YOUR voice.

The truth is, we all fall into patterns, and one of those patterns involves not believing in ourselves. You need to believe yourself – don’t lose sight of what writing really is… It’s a skill. It’s something you can improve on but you can only do this if you improve your writer’s confidence and mindset. It’s time to CHANGE the way you think about writing. Improve your writing, use feedback effectively and compare yourself to YOU only. You are good enough to be a writer – so don’t doubt your writing, work on it. All writing is ‘work-in-progress’ so keep developing your craft!

You can do it. So, believe it!

Much love,

Janet

XOXO