Writers don’t just dream of becoming successful authors. Many of us — myself included — also imagine that one day we’ll wake up not just motivated to write, but also totally confident in our ability to do it well. Not an easily achievable goal. But is it impossible?
Here’s a fun writing secret: Writing more doesn’t always lead to more confidence in your writing. The good news? That’s totally normal. And a lack of confidence in your abilities as a writer doesn’t mean you can’t, or won’t succeed. All you have to do to get to where you want to be confidently … is to fake it.
Writing Increases Skill, But Not Always Confidence
There are plenty of uncertainties when it comes to writing, but there’s at least one certainty you can count on: The only way to become a better writer is to write. Not every now and then, but as often as you’re able. You don’t have to write every day or hit a certain number of words in a week to get better. But you do have to find a way to make consistent writing time a part of your life, no matter what that might look like for you. With consistency comes improvement. And writers — as with any group of artists — never really stop learning.
But even though you might get really good at writing — whether it’s you who recognizes that or someone else — this isn’t a guaranteed ticket to instant confidence for most people. I’ve been posting to this blog since 2009, and every time I draft a new one, I hold my breath as my cursor hovers over the Publish button. I still wonder if it’s any good or if anyone will resonate with it. This still happens across all aspects of my work. The work doesn’t make me confident; I just do it anyway. And this is the case for many — if not most — of even the most accomplished writers you know of.
Many Writers Aren’t All That Sure of Themselves
Most of your favorite writers totally fake their confidence more days than not — yet they’re still amazing writers. There will always be exceptions to these kinds of rules, of course. But the vast majority of active writers struggle with their confidence. And plenty of the successful ones have raging impostor syndrome. There’s nothing wrong with any of them. They’re just human, and you probably know from experience that self-confidence is a quite common human struggle.
When you hear writers talking about their work and accomplishments, they’re probably doing so with a lot of pride. Being proud of the work you’ve put into something is a sign of real self-respect. But underneath it, a lot of writers are often wondering if they’ll ever write anything worth reading ever again. Success and accomplishments — even something as seemingly small as drafting an article or finishing the first draft of a book — don’t naturally make you confident. There is a “fake it ’til you make it” phenomenon at play here. What most people don’t tell you is that even after the “make it” part, oh right … you still have to somehow find the courage to keep writing.
The Key to Writing Success Isn’t Confidence. It’s Faking It.
How do you become confident in your work as a writer? Great question. Here’s the short answer: You don’t. Well, most writers don’t, anyway. I’ve spoken with dozens of professional authors on my podcast, and whenever I ask them about how they’re feeling having a new book out into the world, probably 95 percent of them still can’t believe they not only wrote a book, but that someone actually wanted to publish it. We’re talking bestselling authors, some of whom have been writing professionally for decades. They have all the reasons in the world to feel totally confident in their work. Many don’t. But many of them also pretend that they are — but not because they want to be dishonest.
(You should know that sliding in that “shameless” promotion of my podcast was the hardest part about writing this post. I hated it. But I can fake it just like the rest of them. See what I did there?)
Faking confidence isn’t about deception. Honestly, it’s more about the writer than their audience in those moments they act more confident than they feel. Playing the part of a confident writer in a lot of ways starts to make you feel like one. It doesn’t replace natural confidence, and it won’t do the work for you. But it can help put you in the right mindset to talk more openly about your work, promote your projects, inspire other writers … and, on really good days, give you the push you need to sit down and crank out some new words today.
Meg Dowell is the creator of Brain Rush, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words, and Not a Book Hoarder, celebrating books of all kinds. She is an editor, writer, book reviewer, podcaster, and photographer passionate about stories and how they get made. Learn more
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