How to Rebuild Your Confidence as a Writer to Reach Your Goals Faster
You can’t avoid those dips, but you can learn to control them
As a writer, you want your confidence to be in one direction: upwards.
And you want enough reserves in your confidence tank to keep you floating when the going gets tough. Because, guess what? You’ll face those tough times. Everyone does.
You can pick out the silent treatment by some editors. After weeks and months, you’ll get no feedback on your drafts. You might as well forget you even sent those pieces.
Stepping things up, you can count one quick rejection after another, even when you know your draft is good enough. Then, the few drafts that aren’t rejected receive few views when you publish them.
These are only a few examples of how your confidence can drain away as a writer. But you can’t let that stop you from writing. Learn to rebuild the confidence to keep going regardless. Here’s how.
Find and stick to your authentic self
Want to rebuild your confidence as a writer? You can’t overlook finding your authentic self. When you know who you are, it’s easy to get back on track after a torrid time.
Many writers trade their authenticity for many things. But when you hit a dead-end, discover your authentic self to rebuild your confidence.
Here’s how to stick to your authentic self:
- Find your strengths and quirks
Every writer should know their strengths. And also their quirky side. When all else fails, you can come back to these keys.
No, identifying these components doesn’t happen overnight, though some writers find theirs faster than others.
A few writers even know it all before they start writing. But you’re not out of the picture for not knowing your writing strengths and quirks from day one.
Give yourself enough time as you practice your craft, and these will emerge naturally. For starters, you can lean toward your expertise and life experiences.
Years ago, when I was in a similar place, I took to writing about photography and lessons learned from side hustling (my strengths). That quickly rebuilt my confidence.
- Know what you want and go for it
Way too many writers love chasing trending topics and the current hot niches. Okay, if that’s what will get you to your destination, more power to you.
However, many other writers may find that listing and plotting how to reach their goals helps them stay authentic. For a writer fighting to find your confidence, this is a must-do.
As you do what you’d planned, you fall more in love with your work, despite the current challenges. And it’s a great way to build confidence as you draw more strength from the journey.
Focus on other aspects than results
Many writers who lose their confidence do so mostly because of disappointing results.
But you’ll find other equally essential aspects of writing beyond your current struggles results-wise. And naturally, when the tough times come around, you want to give these other aspects of your writing as much attention, if not more.
Do these things, and you’ll help yourself get back on track.
- You can’t be lacking in effort
For all the many things you can do — and control — as a writer, the biggest is effort. You have no other way around doing the hard work of writing tons of words.
If you can’t do the (hard) work, you’ll find it difficult to overcome the obstacles. The best effort is consistent effort.
What qualifies as consistent may differ by writer. For starters, you want to make a date with yourself to write every day, every few days, or batch your writing.
You’ll find what works best for you based on your unique circumstances. But whatever you do, you can’t be lacking in consistent effort.
- Control the little things
In the book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, author Mason Curry shows how different creatives favor different moves to help them achieve their goals. I call those routines the little things.
You want to make things super conducive to your writing. With this in place, getting the best from yourself is easier, even in the most challenging times. Here are a few tips to help you:
Create the perfect writing environment
Some writers thrive in chaos and clutter. Good for them. Others write best in a quiet environment. Others are anywhere between those two extremes. Where do you find yourself? Create that environment to help you write.
Know your routines
Again, some writers thrive on routine, while others find creativity in randomness. Know which one you favor the most. It’s easier to rebuild your confidence in your abilities with a proven approach.
A friend does most of his writing late at night when all’s quiet. I perform better in the mornings. That shows how our writing routines would vary.
There are more miscellaneous push factors that can also help keep you going steady, including:
Word count challenges:
Favor the 1,000 words a day challenge? Go for it. That may be what pushes you to control those little things about your writing career. It needn’t even be that many words.
Half of that every other day can also work for you, given your schedule and abilities. The aim isn’t the number of words as much as the force to get you writing.
Deadlines:
Others will favor deadlines in their writing — say, one hour of writing every day or one blog post by the end of every week. Again, it’s not the size of the output that matters.
It’s getting yourself to stick to those deadlines that rebuilds your confidence.
Deadlines have also proven to be effective in helping writers achieve goals. You can do far worse than tapping into that power.
Small treats: You can also give yourself a small treat after every accomplishment. Did you meet your deadline or word count for the week? Did you keep the streak alive? Here’s a small treat for yourself. More to come next week.
These treats help you get a firm grip on the little things you can control as a writer.
Get social
Going alone can be especially worrying when the times are tough. Put yourself in a position where other writers can see you, check you out, and interact with you if they love what they see.
It’s easier to rebuild your confidence that way. Here’s how you can get more social as a writer.
- Be an active part of a semi-active community
You’ll find many communities aimed at helping writers. It’s time to join the party. But beyond just joining, be active. Many writers appear to be busy with thousands of other tasks.
It makes it hard for them to play active roles in some of these communities. What an opportunity to get your name out there.
- Be of value to others
Few writers are willing to put their self-interests aside and help others. You’ll instantly set yourself apart by being the opposite of that and learning to offer value to the communities you find yourself in.
If you can offer legitimate feedback to other writers, go for it. You’re adding some value to their work. If you can share other valuable info with the community, do that.
If you can volunteer with other roles in the community, give it a shot. Keep your mind open to learn even more.
That’s what community is all about. Knowing your name rings a bell to the few people you’ve helped over the years can’t hurt your confidence. It could build it up instead.
Years back, I remember reviewing drafts for colleague writers (for free). Some of them were new to the game, and realizing others were just getting started rebuilt my confidence to stay on track.
As the going gets tough, it’s easier to pack up and go home. But you can also choose to stay on and keep grinding.
I’d be lying if I said it was as easy as flipping a switch. It isn’t. But whatever it is, it’s not beyond you. Or any writer. Like most writers, I’ve also faced times when my confidence meter was empty.
Over time, I helped myself make progress. And I’m still at it, thanks mainly to finding the confidence to keep going in the face of sometimes disappointing results. That’s the best approach to take.
And you can start today, right now. Let’s do it.
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