Why you should be a confident writer. Always.
There’s a notion when you begin to write that no one cares what you have to say unless you’re an interesting individual with tremendous credibility or an expert on a particular topic.
Unfortunately, this is primarily true.
This is detrimental to a writer’s self-confidence.
Although, there is good news.
You don’t have to be a professional or a thought leader to provide value to a community of people.
Don’t be discouraged by other writers — be inspired by them, they all started somewhere. You may or may not become a full-time writer or a columnist, but you will become a practiced writer, and practiced writers garner just as much attention.
Think of all the blurbs, blogs and articles you’ve read in the past year. How many of those do you know for certain were written by established writers?
Don’t know?
Don’t remember?
Exactly — it doesn’t really matter.
Then again, credibility can make or break a composition; you need to find where it’s necessary and where it’s not.
I assume most of you don’t know who I am, and there’s a great chance a lot of you reading this are close friends, family, or people I’ve met through school or work.
It doesn’t quite matter if you know I’m sixteen years old or fifty-seven years old; it doesn’t matter if you know this is my 1st story as a Medium writer or if this is my hundredth story.
You provide value by creating an atmosphere where your message is conveyed in a relatable way.
Know when to establish your credibility, if at all, in your writing. Most importantly, do not allow your lack of credibility overshadow your confidence — know who you are and be confident in that.
Know your audience, know your message, and know what you write is the differentiator.
The more value you bring your reader, the more likely they are to stick around.
While you are informing, entertaining, persuading, etc., your diction, your syntax, your tone and imagery is a story in it of itself, and those are indicators of self-confidence as much, if not more, than the content you are providing the reader.
A majority of my readings on confidence and writing revolve around the belief of not being as good as someone else. Much like the conversation around credibility, many writers don’t believe their capacity to write is up to par compared to those with thousands of readers, thousands of recommends and dozens of publications.
News flash — not with that attitude it won’t be.
Also, wait a moment … what are your abilities predicated on?
The opinions of others?
The number of readers, followers, likes, retweets or recommends?
Be yourself, write your truths. Don’t let someone else affect your voice.
You don’t need me to tell you to be confident in your writing for you to execute on that, but most people operate in a way where they need someone to tell them — they’re looking for permission to do what they know is right.
You don’t need permission from anyone. Write for you, then write for everyone else.
I’d like to share a piece from fellow Medium writer Nicolas Cole in his story How I Went From Zero to 200,000+ Views My First 30 Days On Medium that may resonate with you whether you are an aspiring writer or otherwise:
“Everyone starts out at zero.
Everyone.
What separates the people who succeed (at anything) and the people who fail, ultimately comes down to how willing you are to share who you are as a person.
Some people think I’m a great writer. Others think my writing is fairly basic.”
It’s not a matter of being a great writer or a basic writer — which is an arbitrary view on writing altogether. It’s a matter of having enough self-awareness to know who you are in the community, and providing value through an intrinsic perspective of yourself.
Nicolas then proceeds to say, “The more vulnerable, open and honest you are, the more people relate to you.”
Self-confidence requires vulnerability, openness and honesty. Again, you provide the most value when creating a welcoming atmosphere where your message is conveyed in a relatable way.
It’s a mindset.
It is a mindset.
If you aren’t confident in your writing, nobody else will be either.
Having confidence as a writer allows you to speak with your own voice, not an atypical version of yourself spitting out what you expect people want to hear.
Express yourself, share your experiences, and provide value to your reader.
How do you do this effectively as a writer?
Be a confident one. Always.
If you enjoyed this story, please click or tap those clappin’ hands (👏🏼) so others can enjoy it too! You can even do it more than once. 😉 Feel free to contact me on Instagram and Twitter @mccarthy_kp. I’d love to hear from you!
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