Did you know that writing a novel is one of the most common life dreams that comes up on surveys? Truly, being a writer is something lots of people want to do or have thought about doing someday. But writing books is also hard. Or maybe I should say that finishing books is hard. I know this from personal experience. Perhaps the biggest barrier standing between fledging writers and their dream of finishing a book is self-doubt.
Writing a Book Is an Incredibly Soul-Bearing Experience
Lots of aspects of the actual craft of writing can be difficult. Even professional writers are still trying to figure out what process works for them and how to write settings and characters that they’ve never attempted before. But what about believing that you can write a book? How are you supposed to stick with it if this is your very first time writing and you’re well aware that your stuff is terrible? And how on earth are you supposed to actually SHOW your work to people (shudder).
Self-doubt is a pretty standard part of being a writer. Don’t get me wrong, there are egomaniac writers out there who think they’re God’s gift to readers everywhere. But I’d also argue that those people are some of the most insecure writers of all who are terrified of becoming irrelevant now that they’ve achieved some success. For the vast majority of us, we’re battling inner demons of self-doubt every time we sit down to write, and we’re all on different paths of tackling those insecure feelings.
If you’re looking for a confidence pick-me-up, then this post is for you. Here are six tested tips that might ease your inner struggle of wondering if all this writing is worth it. And when I say these tips are tested, I mean that yours truly has tried them out and found them helpful. So without further ado . . .
6 Tested Tips for Writers to Kick their Self-Doubt
Tip #1: Recognize that Improvement is the Goal—Not Perfection
I know, this one is kind of a drag, but it has to be #1 on this list. I’m truly one to talk here since I’m an infamous perfectionist. But I mean it when I say that writing a great book is only a secondary goal. The real point of writing is to become a better writer chapter by chapter, project by project, and book by book. I heard this concept for the first time when I took a writing class from the author Brandon Sanderson and he pointed out that finished manuscripts are just a happy side-effect of a consistent writing habit. The primary product of all that writing practice is you.
Your writing muscles get stronger every time you pick up your pen or put your hands on the keyboard. Even if you feel like you’re not doing your ideas justice and your writing is so pitifully inadequate right now, KEEP WRITING. I beg of you not to let the self-doubt win. All books that eventually got published started out as a messy first draft. And every time you write, you’re investing in the writer you’re going to become. Believe in that future writer!
Tip #2: Pause and Write Something Fun
If self-doubt is getting your goat, it might be time to take a break from your current project and write something that’s total candy to you. What that is depends on what you like writing. Would you die to write some crossover fanfiction of your two favorite TV shows colliding for buddy-cop shenanigans? How about a short story featuring an embarrassing moment you witnessed at work the other day? Or perhaps your historical characters dropped into a modern setting that makes their brains explode?
Personally, my writing candy is funny dialogue in script form so I can blast out entire conversations that make me smile. And I’m not above writing my favorite love interests going on adventures together and having romantic interludes that involve kissing. But that’s just me. If you’re feeling a little sluggish and dreary about your writing, give yourself a breath of fresh air to remember how much you love to write. It will do you wonders.
Tip #3: Find a Cheerleader
Not an actual cheerleader, mind you. I mean a person who loves you, loves your work, and can hype you up when you’re feeling deflated about your writing dreams. I’ve had many different writing cheerleaders in my life, and my current cheerleader is definitely my husband. He knows exactly how to look me in the eyes and tell me I’m brilliant and destined to get published someday. And he’s the perfect person to provide support by taking our daughter out to play or doing some housework so I can write. Bless him is all the ways.
Who helps you believe in yourself? Your mom? Your best friend? Those wacky college friends who know exactly how to make you feel loved? Or perhaps your cousin who writes morbid murder mysteries and loves reading your genre too? Whoever that person is, don’t hesitate to call them when you’re feeling down. Self-doubt tends to snowball when we isolate ourselves and catastrophize about the thousands of hours we’ve wasted writing books that we haven’t finished. Sometimes spending time with a person who loves you or hearing them say that you’re gonna make it can help you stop spiraling and start believing in yourself again.
Tip #4: Revisit Your Greatest Hits
If you’re brand new to writing, this tip might be a little tricky. But fear not! I have a whole post on how to receive feedback on your writing, and there’s some very practical ideas in there. But for us writers who’ve been at this a while and have shown our writing to friends before, a great way to tackle self-doubt is to remember your writing successes of the past. Remember that time your best friend read your big plot twist and gasped? Or read your favorite love scene and sighed? How about that suspenseful scene you waited literally years to write and finally executed just right?
When insecurity is eating you from the inside out, now is the time to remember when you enjoyed writing the most and knew that your manuscript was working. Revisit positive feedback, good writing memories, and scenes that you’re genuinely proud you wrote. YOU wrote that! Score! It really helps in low moments when you’re doubting your future as a writer to look back on those moments when you felt positively about writing and your projects. Always remember to let yourself bask in the good times even retroactively if you need a writing pick-me-up.
Tip #5: Prepare Now to Kick Imposter Syndrome
This might sound backwards, but some of my greatest moments of self-doubt as a writer were when I started seeing the first signs of success. Before then, writing was just a hobby that I happened to be very obsessed with. I loved to write, and I wanted to get published. But that goal was like a ten-years-out kind of thing, right? The long-distance nature of my publishing dreams felt like a cozy security blanket as I started cranking out finished manuscripts. I’d edit these monstrosities and start querying someday . . .
Then I finally edited my favorite manuscript. As I started looking for agents and seeking out more feedback, something totally unexpected happened: I started getting positive, personalized feedback from both agents and my friends. They read my stuff, and instead of tearing it apart, they told me the book felt like a real book in a bookstore. They thought it was ready. And all of a sudden, my self-doubt swallowed me whole. There was no way my book was actually ready. I wasn’t a good enough writer yet. I couldn’t be. Were all these people lying!?
This particular phenomenon is called imposter syndrome, and it helps to know that this feeling is extremely common. Also the people who are anxious enough to feel like an imposter are the exact people who really DO work hard and deserve good things when they happen. I’ve written about imposter syndrome before if you’re looking for more strategies to escape these worries when good things start coming your way as a writer.
Tip #6: Remember Why You Write
When you’re feeling the self-doubt creep in and you’re starting to wonder if your writing is all trash, those are the moments to mentally take yourself back to the beginning. What made you want to write in the first place? Did a really amazing author inspire you to try out this craft? Were you just born to write and made up stories at six years old like I did? Did you get frustrated that the type of book you’ve always wanted to read just wasn’t on the shelves? Or maybe you have a personal mission to write about your culture, write about a personal hardship you’ve experienced, or just write cleaner books because the world needs that SO BAD right now.
Whatever your why might be, that goal can stabilize you when self-doubt strikes. Writing takes a lot of heart and gumption. People with no motivation and nothing to say are NOT the type of people who dream about writing books. Just remember the reason you became a writer—and that nobody can write your story the way you can. I think that’s the coolest thing about writing: even though we’re all telling the same stories, no one has a voice like yours.
I Hope We All Manage to Kiss Our Self-Doubt Goodbye
We all have moments when we question our worth, especially as writers. People who write have a neurotic streak in my experience, but it’s also cool to be part of the worldwide club of slightly unhinged storytellers with something to say about being human. Keep writing, my friends! There’s no limit to the number of people looking for something new to read.
