One of My Biggest Mistakes as a Writer
How not to kill your writing style
One of the worse things I can do as a writer is to try and write like someone else. This will kill my writer’s voice and spirit.
Of course, there will be times when we are inspired, and we need to write something about it.
For instances, we have an idea that shoots off from another person’s message and we need to add our own meaning and insights. That’s different and actually quite beautiful.
There are other days we write out of pressure.
The competition feels extra sharp and high. We think our voice is smaller and weaker, less experienced than another’s or not as elegant, articulate, knowledgeable.
It’s almost as if we are under a spell and can’t see our own voice or worth.
Then we might try to write something that is out of character.
How can I tell?
I start to feel panicked and anxious. I double check and rewrite and heavily doubt what I wrote. I feel out of my league and I’m trying too hard to fit in! My writing feels unnatural and forced. And it is.
Side note: This is also different from when we need to write something meaningful and it is hard for us to express. However we just KNOW we need to write something about it. That’s a healthy risk.
When I’m in my river’s thoughts, there’s an ease and a laser sharp focus. Something else is nudging me to write.
Maybe it’s the lime green leaves waving at me from the kitchen window. Maybe it is the antics of baby bunnies playing. Maybe it’s the sound of my heart saying — ‘you are just right being the way you are, writing from the corners of clouds, pulling from experiences that highlight a dense injustice. You’ve got this. It’s your way. Let go of the scholar, the self-righteous, the experts who allude their way is ‘the-only-right-way.’ It’s not.
We each have something to say in our own wonderful way. Words are a connection and there’s almost always a secondary voice rivering its way to the reader.
Write from there and you’ll be just fine.
Carolyn Riker, MA, LMHC, is a psychotherapist and author of three books. Her latest is My Dear, Love Hasn’t Forgotten You. If you’d like, follow her on Facebook at Carolyn Riker, MA, LMHC or Instagram.
