Overcome The ‘I’m Not a Good Writer’ Belief and Self-Doubt (You’re Not Alone)

You could sit down to write, but you know that they wouldn’t like it. You’ve told yourself “I’m not a good writer” enough times. Self-doubt has creeped in and it’s become a belief.

Your “good writer” benchmark

You set the bar too high for being a good writer. And it doesn’t have to be. Your benchmark is arbitrary. There will always be a writer not as good as you and one that’s better. Why not create your own benchmark?

Choosing your own benchmark is empowering because you can choose one that you’ll reach every time.

You play a game of tennis against Serena Williams. She kicks your butt and you’re laughed off the tennis court. Do you feel bad about your tennis game?

Of course not. So why do this with your writing?

You versus Stephen King

Stephen King is prolific, having written 59 novels and clocking in about 2,000 words per day.

If your measure of being a good writer is prolificacy, King wouldn’t be a good choice to set your benchmark against. Rather than competing with King’s 2,000 words per day, why not set a smaller goal like 50 words per day?

Getting into your writing sweet spot

Instead of tennis against Serena Williams, you play against Hal down the street, who is only 5% better than you are. Playing against Hal is more likely to create flow, the magical sweet spot where you’re learning and growing, neither overwhelmed nor bored.

With Hal, you hit the ball back and forth, and slowly improve your tennis game. (The only problem is that Hal tends to be a sore loser.)

By setting an appropriate benchmark, you increase the odds that you’ll get into flow.

You’ve set your benchmark lower, what else can you do to keep improving?

Getting better takes deliberate practice

If you were a basketball player trying to improve your free throw, what would you do? You’d spend time practicing free throws each day.

Deliberate practice requires focusing on a specific part of your writing and getting feedback. You can get feedback by asking friends and family, joining a Meetup group, or sharing your work on a blog. You can also try Ben Franklin’s writing practice by rewriting someone else’s work and comparing your output to theirs. Study the work of writers you enjoy, and see if you can write in their style to expand your own comfort zone.

Just show up (every day)

My writing bar is set ridiculously low to encourage me to show up every single day.

I have a daily writing goal of 50 words. It’s a goal I can always reach, and today I’m at 471 words. I track progress using a Don’t Break the Chain calendar. Read more about my strategy for building a writing habit that sticks.

Key Takeaways

• You set your benchmark too high. There will always be a write not as good as you and one better
• Choosing your own benchmark is empowering because you can choose one that you’ll reach every time
• By setting an appropriate writing benchmark, you increase the odds that you’ll get into flow
• Becoming a better writer takes deliberate practice. Study the work of writers you enjoy, and see if you can write in their style to expand your own comfort zone.
• Just show up (every day)

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(photo by Ronaldo de Oliveira)