How to Build Confidence as a Writer

All of us, at some point in our writer lifetime, have had moments where we question our work, we question ourselves and our ability to write effectively. Maybe it’s just an off day, maybe we are coming back to writing after taking a break or maybe were just getting started. Today we’re talking about how to have confidence in ourselves and our work.

1. Stop researching. Sometimes when we aren’t feeling confident, we turn to things like popular media, favorite books, book’s on writing techniques, writing blogs (like this one) and we spend all our time researching and learning what to do but then we still fumble when it goes time to write. Writing technique and research is important (which is why we have this blog in the first place) but reading about skills does not automatically transfer over when writing. Writing is a skill that must be practiced over and over and over. Just like when riding a bike or learning any new concept—it’s rough, but with time, it gets easier. Spend time researching, yes—but then put it away and write.

2. Plan your purpose, then write from your heart. If you struggle between pantsing vs. plotting, let me reassure you: when writing, both are necessary. If you write something with no thought or purpose or plan, it can come off as pointless, rambling or just lacking. If you over-plan, you take away the creativity of the writing process. If you’re struggling making a scene go down exactly the way you planned it, there may be something wrong with your plan that would have gone differently if you followed the natural flow of your writing. So instead of choosing one or the other: do both. Think of the purpose of your writing: why are you writing this? You don’t need a profound answer for it to be good but you do need some kind of answer. This will help you drive your story along and make it something that leaves the reader satisfied and something to think about later. Once you have your purpose, use your logic and creativity to follow the story around, always coming back to your purpose.

3. Write first, edit later. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: your first draft will not be your best writing. No best seller turned in their word puke of a draft to be published. You have to give yourself time and space to see your writing and polish it over and over until it is what you envisioned when creating the story. Do not be caught up in making everything purpose. When Karmyn and I wrote Visionary (the second time around) we left our mistakes in if it wasn’t an easy fix. We left plot holes with wonky prose until we finished our story. Then, we took a month off of looking at it and combed through the document to edit it over and over and over until we felt it was ready. It is so much easier to edit a page or fix an inconsistency later than it is to constantly stop in the middle of writing.

4. Think about your writing style. This is part of the editing fun. Where you take your word puke and slowly morph it into something memorable. Famous authors tend to have a certain style they like, something that distinguishes them from the others. If you want complex characters and strong females, dazzling worlds with dazzling words and the most beautiful sentences—think Sarah J. Maas. With her, you can almost isolate any sentence, and it’s worthy of being quoted on Pinterest. If you want goofy, silly shenanigans that remind you of being a kid and having the best time—think Rick Riordan. Obviously your job is not to copy other author’s styles, but it’s something to think about when editing and polishing your work. Think of your target audience and your purpose. When writing Visionary, Kamryn and I always made it a goal to not sound too formal or overly composed prose. We wanted it to feel natural and simple. We wanted it to have a humorous undertone even when the bad things are happening, because that’s how a lot of us deal with life. We have wild elements that seem totally out of place for the real world but also very real and relatable issues. It gives you a sense of familiarity in your writing.

5. Get feedback. This is scary, I know. Find a trusted friend or family member first, and be specific in the feedback that you want (i.e. Does __ character come across as whiny? Does the pacing feel slow?). Then branch out to other writers and beta readers. Criticism is tough, especially with something like writing. Our stories can sometimes feel like a part of our soul. But learning to take feedback and implement change will strengthen your writing and confidence as a writer like nothing else. It changes the mindset from “I’ll never be good enough” to “I can work on this and make it better”

Of course, there are more but these are what I felt to be most important when it comes to building confidence. What do you do to build confidence in your writing? Does reaching out for feedback make you want to curl up in a blanket and hide? Let us know and as always, write-on!