Becoming a Confident Writer on Medium. You Can too Dumbass!
The Over-thinker’s Guide to Publishing.
I love reading. Literature of any form. I could lose myself between the pages and not notice an earthquake in my neighbourhood. It became so that someone close to me pointed out that almost everyone I have an admiration for, are artists with pens. No sportsmen, no actors, and certainly no pop stars.
To me, the skill of enrapturing people with mere words felt like nothing short of magic. Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and Jeffrey Archer were all men who weaved magic into nothing but crushed bamboo pulp. They took something so fragile and transient, cast their spells in and embossed immortality. Into a mere piece of humble paper.
Writing was my favourite superpower. I was so captivated by the men I mentioned and their likes I never got enamoured with the ability of teleportation or to fly. I wanted to write. I wanted to convey. To move. To captivate. Knowing that a few short lines were all it took for these men to change people’s entire perspective on life was wondrous. I wanted the power for myself!
Despite the strong passion I felt, the work I created left me wishing for more. I would pour my heart and soul into a piece, only to read it back and find it falling short of what I had envisioned. I would compare myself to Dickens and Twain and feel like I would never be able to write at their level of mastery. Like I’m never going to be good enough.
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”
— Zig Ziglar
Doubt, insecurity, and frustration crept in. I began to despise myself for what I lacked. I gave up writing and moved ahead with life. But the desire was never lost irrecoverably.
I chanced upon an old saying, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” and something changed in me. Deep down, the heart of my hearts always knew this was what I always wanted. I made the decision to make writing a part of my identity, and I decided to take the plunge with blogging. Small pieces that would move, inspire, educate, empathise, and resonate.
The thought of sharing my writing with the world made my heart race and my hands tremble like a leaf in a storm. I knew that the internet was a vast and unforgiving place and that the competition for readers was fierce. The fear of failure almost stopped me in my tracks, but hey, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!”
So, I took a deep breath, summoned all my courage, and hit the “publish” button. And that was it. The best few minutes transpired!
The feeling of relief washed over me, and I was overwhelmed with a feeling of fulfillment of a deep desire which I had resigned will remain so forever. I knew what it took to make writing a part of my identity!
Ah, the first step. It’s where the journey begins, where the ball starts rolling, where the rubber hits the road. It’s the moment of truth, the tipping point, the make or break.
It’s the moment when we take a deep breath, square our shoulders, and say to ourselves, “I’m going to do this.” If, for a moment, I had let fear win, I would have had to salvage nothing but a forlorn feeling every time I thought about writing. I decided to take the power from my own inner demons and took the plunge instead.
There are reams of articles here on medium about what it takes to be a good writer. Focus on your formatting, Provide value to readers, Use apps like grammarly, engage with your audience, find a niche, and you get the idea.
I felt the most important piece of advice new writers needed was missing. The biggest demon they’d face, possibly. ‘Just Start.’ The content and the poetic/prosaic standards don’t matter. The value part is inconsequential. For God’s sake, just listen to me! Go start. Write and hit the publish button.
The moment of truth is something a large number of people never experience, and as a result, creative geniuses may be lost.
Taking the first step toward any new venture can be daunting, but in the realm of writing, it can feel especially intimidating. Writing requires vulnerability, creativity, and a willingness to put yourself out there for others to see and judge. It’s easy to get caught up in self-doubt and insecurity and to feel like you’re not good enough to share your words with the world. But as the saying goes, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That first step is the most important and critical because it sets you on the path to achieving your dreams.
In the end, writing is more than just a craft or an art. It’s a journey of self-discovery, a way to connect with others, and a means to leave a lasting impact on the world. It’s the power to inspire, to move, to challenge, and to change. So if you’re reading this and you’ve been waiting for a sign to start writing, let this be it. Take the first step, no matter how scary it may seem, and don’t look back. For in the act of writing, we unlock the potential to create something truly magical and immortal, just like those who came before us. So go forth and write, my friend, and may your words be nothing short of extraordinary.
As I embark on a journey pursuing my passion for moving people with my ability to write, I request a small piece of kindness from my readers in the form of your thoughts and feedback to help me fine-tune my skills with the pen.
A ‘follow’ would help immensely too!
