How to Gain More Confidence in Your Writing

The one, surefire method to help you believe in your most-important work

There aren’t many writing days that pass where I don’t have some self-doubt about my writing, but throughout the process I’ve found what lowers my self-confident and what elevates it.

And the answer isn’t quite what you might think.

Writing is hard-enough as it is. Putting a great story to paper can take more out of a person than some of the most-physical jobs on earth. I’ve had these physical jobs. I’ve felt back-breaking work. And I’ve written hard stories. Both made me sleep like a lumberjack at the end of the day.

So, then we throw confidence into the mix.

We fight with our own minds as to whether or not our work is worth reading. We self-judge and self-doubt. If we catch ourselves on a day when we’re not strong, we quit the story and stick it in some drawer.

Maybe we stop writing for a long time. Maybe we quit writing for good.

Unless you’re the type of person without the ability for self-reflection you’ve probably got a knack for writing if you enjoy it. This alone deserves some self-confidence.

We’ll never know if we’ve got a really good story (we can speculate and feel good about a piece, but we can’t truly know alone) until our work gets a few readers.

Now, we’ve got the fear of publishing — the fear of finishing, because that means someone’s going to read what we wrote. We can’t squeeze the toothpaste back in the bottle once our first reader cracks the pages.

Writing becomes this stack of feelings the writer must fight against at the moment he’s discovering his best work. It’s like nature’s little joke. But it doesn’t feel so little to us.

There’s a way to grow confidence in your writing

And this confidence doesn’t come with studying the craft more or better editing (although those will help you get better).

You can elevate your confidence with consistent production.

I found by writing everyday I don’t have the time to worry about the quality of my work. I’ve developed the habit of daily writing and I know I’ve got to get my words to paper before the day is up.

Instead of worrying if I’m good enough I’m not concerned with production.

This shift in concern has made a profound impact on my self-confidence.

This is the blue-collar process of writing as a vocation. We write no matter what. Some pieces are better than others. But we can’t write every day and always write something bad. By sheer luck we can write at least one good story. If we try at all we’ll write more.

There’s no use in trying to be perfect.

Perfectionism is the satin-lined casket of creativity and originality — Augusten Burroughs

I try not to compare my work to other writes anymore. I changed my mindset. It’s not about bulk-writing in quantity. This is about getting to work and facing the resistance. This is about sitting my ass in a chair.

Some days I’ll produce writing that works. Other days I won’t.

I try not to judge the work before it’s written or as it’s written. This isn’t the job in the moment. My job is to sit and write and hit my word count. I become my own employee. I’m the boss, the cook, the HR manager, and the dishwasher.

When I put a daily writing goal on myself I switch the level of anxiety to something manageable. All I have to do is ensure my ass is on the chair. I get myself worked-up to ensure I do the writing and the self-doubt goes away.

There’s a second benefit to this change of thought

I find my work is much better when I’m not trying to ‘be a writer.’ When I sit and worry if I’m good enough my subconscious/creative side shuts down and my conscious mind tries to talk me out of the writing.

When I stop worrying whether or not the writing is good the writing actually gets better.

It’s weird. But it works. I hope it works for you too.

Self-confidence can be really tough, especially when you deep in a book, or your just getting started as a writer. Try the blue-collar approach. Give yourself a break.

Sit.

Bang-out your word count.

Worry about the ‘good or bad’ tomorrow.

We want to read what you write, but you’ve got to finish it for that to happen.

We’re waiting for you.

August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. A self-proclaimed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches indie authors how to write books that sell and how to sell more of those books once they’re written. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.

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