3 Biggest Fears Looming Over New Writers
And how to address them.
The first thing I do when I open Medium, is look at how many people interacted with my articles.
The worst feeling is when you see the bell icon where a green button with a number should exist. Especially if you just published a new article for all the lovely readers on Medium to devour.
That is my biggest fear!
1] What if my writing is not good enough??!!
The truth is,
It probably isn’t.
But realizing that is the first step. Knowing that your writing is poor, lets you proceed to the next step.
What parts are bad?
Believe it or not, a sizable portion of your work, no matter how drunk you were when you wrote it, would be of decent quality.
It’s the rotten apples you need to worry about, not the entire basket. And here are a few tips I found helpful.
Self — analysis
Sit down and re-read your work. Critique it like an English teacher with a bad temper would. It’s much harder than it seems, especially since you are the creator.
One way to overcome this is by reading it the next day. You won’t be in the same mindset and can look at it from a different viewpoint.
Then you know the root of your problem and can work on it.
Dear old Facebook
It’s the 21st Century, and we have something called the internet. A quick search will lead you to multiple Facebook pages and writer groups offering to help each other grow.
There’s a possibility you find a group willing to help. You can share your articles and get critiqued by noobs on the same journey as you are or OGs who have rich experience in the field.
Friends and Family
Ooh, this might get rough, depending on how you put it across! Don’t be that one person in every party who brags to their teeth about the fantastic things they’ve been up to. You’ll get nowhere with that.
Instead, go up to a friend or family member you know would honestly be willing to help and ask for their thoughts.
All you have to do is send a link to your draft and ask them for one thing you can improve on.
That puts less pressure on them, making it easier to respond to you. The larger the number of people you ask, the wider your perspective gets.
You would probably come across something that’s so glaringly obvious but a significant oversight when you first wrote it. And a few small tweaks to polish it up.
2] I’m not cool
As much as I hate to admit it, saying that you’re an Instagram or YouTube personality is considered cooler than saying I write on Medium. All I hear people say is,
What’s Medium? I’ve never heard of it.
or
LOL, so you write like blogs or something?
It’s not as fancy as saying you’re a YouTuber or Instagram celebrity, but that’s because consuming images and video is much easier than anything in text, and we want the easy way out. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words and a video has lots of pictures.
When was the last time you read instructions on the manual that came in the box instead of watching a demo video on YouTube?
It’s not your fault. But when you start making some peas, you can call yourself a Content Creator or even an Online Entrepreneur. These are two fancy names that are also representative of your work.
No matter what people think about you, remember it’s their opinion, acknowledge it, and move on. Of course, if you receive constructive feedback, work on it. Ignore the rest.
3] Will I ever grow big enough?
It depends.
Are you willing to put in the extra effort to do better than you did yesterday?
Do you have the dedication to wake up each morning or stay up late and write about the things you love?
Will you give your best every day, no matter the circumstances?
Will you adapt to change and grow as a writer by learning from each article, story, or poem you write?
If you answered all four YESs, you’ve done your end of the job well. The rest is luck and not in your control.
Work on the things you can control and forget about the things you cannot, for it will only bring unwanted stress and remove the much-needed peace of mind to write effectively.
This fear drives us crazy because we see so many famous writers with thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of followers, and get discouraged.
It’s essential to realize that in this race, you’re competing with yourself, nobody else.
That person you look up to was precisely where you are at some point. With enough dedication and a bit of luck, they’ve grown to where they are now.
Do your part. Put in the work regularly. Then wait for the growth to happen.
It’s easy to see the finished product and forget the effort that went into making it shine so bright.
Don’t fall for that trap.
Takeaway
- Get feedback on your writing and improve every time.
- Do your part and stay dedicated; leave the rest to luck.
- Remember that everyone starts at zero and works their way up. You’re only racing your past self.
At best, this article helps a lot of people get started or continue doing what they love. At worst, it’s a reminder to keep me going.
Either way, if Nike hadn’t copyrighted it, I would’ve.
