Some Advice To Anyone Who Wants To Pursue Writing But Doesn’t Feel Good Enough
This game takes confidence and the more you do it, the more you realize just how great you can be.
By Bria Barrows
So, a lot of people see my work online, how many publications I write for and probably think I was just born as a good writer.
Like many things, you see the glam side of it all and you become sort of envious of other people and their ability to write. You think to yourself, I am a writer too, but how did they even get the guts to get published? How did they get to the position they are in now?
What I love about my craft is that I can get to basically mentor people online, from anywhere really, and around the world. Aspiring writers who want to know how they can be better, get better, and finally get to the places they want to be in terms of jobs and freelancing.
I’m not obligated to give advice, but I love helping people and sharing our journeys is how we inspire one another to take the steps needed to succeed.
So, if you want to know anything about how I started off as a writer, all I can say is that the struggle was REAL. Like really real.
Girl.
I am actually a professional writing student and when you are in school for writing, you begin to have this subconscious inner habit of comparing yourself to others around you and I did this a lot.
I went into school for writing and I thought, I got in, so I must be good enough. But people around me were good as well and couldn’t shut up about it.
I took classes on all sorts of things I haven’t even learned about before in my life when it comes to style, tone, and even the rhetorics of writing. It was all things I haven’t heard of before and I started to struggle.
At the time as well, I knew nothing about blogging and I believe I also never knew what a blog was even.
A mentor I had at the time introduced me to blog pages and I started a Blogspot that no one read. But I kept writing. I kept writing with the confidence that I was good and would get even better. Eventually, I submitted my first piece of work for an online site and I was constantly published.
My confidence soared through the roof and I couldn’t believe I was doing what I had envied others for doing. And I was doing it well.
But the journey to get there, just there, was incredibly tough.
I remember days when I would have the lowest self-esteem ever because I thought God had no purpose for me. Something I chose for my career, but I was failing at anyway.
There were times when I didn’t think I would make it as a writer and I would feel so depressed.
But here I am, writing every day and more than ever, anticipating the day I get my Professional Writing degree, have my work in print, a job I love, and get my first book published.
And by the grace of God, it will HAPPEN.
But the journey to get here wasn’t easy and it is probably not easy for you as well. You probably see published work all the time and think your story is not good enough. Your grammar, not good enough, the execution of your story, not good enough.
You know what I say to that?
Share it. Because you are.
Share your story, pitch to blogs and keep your head in your own lane as a writer.
This game takes confidence and the more you do it, the more you realize just how great you can be.
No writer starts off as good and our journeys are usually not easy ones as well. For a lot of us actually, quitting, seems like an option a lot of the times.
But staying even if there is rejection is worth it because the reward is ultimately priceless.
Use whatever tools you need to be better. YouTube, blogs that teach you about writing, etc. If God called you to it, you can do it and win.
So, if I were to meet you, in person, the person reading this who thinks they are not good enough, I would say you are. You are definitely good enough.
Just try yourself.