Crash Course For Aspiring Writers

Comparing Your Own Skills To Other People

Hi. Yes, it's been a few hours between me publishing my first chapter and me starting this. This is because something was brought to my attention by the amazing person that is Anonymouss0325 in the comments.

And that is *jazz hands awkwardly* Confidence in your own writing!

I myself deal with issues with this. I open a fanfiction, and I can't help but compare my own writing level to their's. I admire every word, and how delicately and beautifully sewn together each is to the others, forming a clear image of the scene in my head. I think to myself "I'm not as good as they are. I'm not worthy of people reading my stories."

This is normal. As someone who wishes to go for a line of work that is tied to the science of the brain (therapist) if I fail as writer, I have found I can accurately guess what's normal and what isn't. No thoughts are abnormal, though.

As humans, our brains are constantly working to improve us; as a person, our health, our amount of knowledge, almost like a librarian is constantly on the look-out for new books. It is basic human reflex to point out the differences on the skill level we have compared to others. This urge is instilled within all beings. Certain environmental conditions slow it, or, on the contrary, make it more strong; this factor is what makes certain people confident and others not.

Therefore, to help both myself and you all, I will be leaving tips I think of to help us not instantly compare yourself to a writer.

1. Remember you are you. You are an amazing, beautiful person. You may not be as good at writing as you wish, but that doesn't mean you're worthless. In fact, that's the entire reason I made this book! To help you improve. I want to be there in your progress towards becoming the writer you want to become. I want you guys to not be as alone as I was in my path to what I am now. This path is hard at times, becoming a twisting mess of forest, river and desert, but you have made it through 100% of your bad days so far, so why not continue?

2. Find something that motivates you, such as friends, family and other things. Personally, my motivator is making other people happy, because I'm weird and am happy when other people are happy. I believe that if I make a single person smile, years of progress will have been worth it. Also, share your works with people who support you. I shared my first version of my book with my friends, and they motivated me to continue.

3. I've attempted to read as little as possible before, and I must say: don't do it. I found I was missing something that made me happy. You can take a break off of writing, but I don't recommend cutting yourself off fully from reading things.

Also, remember you can make mistakes! I myself only just realized my old cover had 'Writing Tips' instead of 'Crash Course' on it, so I just fixed that. Your readers won't mind. You don't have to feel forced to pump out another chapter on schedule, take your time. Hydrate yourself, practice self-hygiene, and have fun. I love you <3