: Re: Any suggestions for a new writer? I am in no way a writer. It's something I've always wanted to do, but could never build up the courage to actually start. Every time I think about writing,

@Sent2472441

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This sounds like a classic case of Imposter Syndrome. At Thanet Creative Writers (a local community of writers I started where I live) I noticed that this seems to be a problem for many beginner writers.

The only consistent solution has been to actually start writing and not worry about the outcome. Without fail, anything you wrote will seem poor when compared with anything else you wrote more recently. That just seems to be a fact of life.

In terms of an indicator of raw skill, this self-doubt (sometimes named the Inner Critic) seems to be largely positive. It stems, as far as I can tell, from an awareness of what you do not know. That awareness stops you thinking that you are the best writer since Shakespeare and thus allows you to develop your skills.

It is not a universal rule by any stretch of the imagination, but there does seem to be something like an inverse correlation between ability and self-confidence when it comes to writing.

In general:

Don't compare yourself to other writers
Silence the Inner Critic
Don't try to produce perfection as perfection is a myth
Write first, edit later
You are a writer if you write

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