Fear Of Writing
I’m a fraud. I’m no good at this writing thing. I’ll never be that writer.
It’s so easy to think, why should I even bother writing, there are so many better writers than me, why should I put myself out there.
Why should I embarrass myself? Why should I even try I’ll never be as good as them?
Don’t you think they started somewhere? Maybe they started when they were young and improved their craft with their age. But everyone started from the beginning, just like you.
“It’s easy to imagine that real artists know what they’re doing, and that they — unlike you — are entitled to feel good about themselves and their art. Fear that you are not a real artist causes you to undervalue your work.”
- Art & Fear
Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
by DAVID BAYLES & TED ORLAND
I’m a writer, right? I write, and on occasion, it turns out pretty darn good. That makes me a writer.
But when I’m faced with others who are more poetic, educated, or just plain better than me it makes me doubt my work.
A lot of people are better at writing than me, probably you. But should I let that stop me?
Did it let all these other people, who are more successful, stop them, when they realized they have a lot more to learn and a lot more words to come out of their hands and onto the page before they become who they want to be?
It’s in a writer’s blood to feel like they are a sham so acknowledge that and keep on truckin’.
This is your dream, don’t let anyone, even yourself, take that away.
Keep writing, keep improving, and keep living that dream.
