Finding the Confidence to Write What I Want to Write

A Writing Journey Worth Taking

Deciding to write what I want to write, and putting it out there for the world to read and judge is not a decision I made lightly. I had to build confidence in myself before undertaking this path, and I hope that sharing my journey will inspire you to find your path too.

The Daunting Myths

While Substack does make up an important chunk of my ‘writing for me’ sentiment, in this article, I’m focusing on my fiction writing path, and more specifically, writing a fiction novel that will hopefully be published and available for others to read and purchase one day.

Here are a few myths that have plagued me over the years, preventing me from staying on this fiction novel writing path:

• You don’t read enough to call yourself a writer.

• You have no connections in writing or publishing.

• You have no English or creative writing qualifications.

• Most people do not make money from writing fiction.

• You’ll never do the story justice.

• The process from concept to publication is incredibly tedious and daunting.

• Who would want to read my stories anyway?

• There is too much to learn about the craft of writing and storytelling.

• You are too busy, there is not enough time to write and publish your story.

• You are not good enough.

Substack: My Gateway

In a way, Substack is the gateway drug for bigger and better writing things. Well, at least it is for me anyway. This is my space to share my thoughts, ideas, and advice, improve my writing craft, and connect with other writers and readers who can provide support, encouragement, and feedback. It’s a two-way street of encouragement and support here that’s wonderful to be part of.

Community is what I’ve been missing all these years.

Writing can be a lonely endeavour, so finding others who are on a similar path, or have been through the novel writing and publication process and came out the other side and still doing their thing is incredibly rewarding. This above all else motivates me to pull out the keyboard and tap out some inspiring words of my own.

Overcoming Self-Doubt

I still wonder at times if I’m simply the writing equivalent of a tone-deaf singing contest on X-Factor who thinks she’s the bee’s knees, but in reality, sings like a clucking chook and only finds out after her poor performance is broadcast worldwide. But no one has explicitly told me I’m bad at this yet, so I’ll keep on keeping on.

The Dream vs the Realisation

If someone asked me what I would do with my time if I had unlimited money and time—along with catching up on sleep, eating amazing food, and travelling—I would also say I wanted to write and publish my stories.

It’s something that’s always been at the back of my mind, and I have dipped my toe in and out of it over the years. At some point, I always stop and give up in place of other priorities or pursue other paths.

Writing a novel is a long and sometimes difficult process. A lot of knowledge and skills need to be acquired. Stars need to align in other areas too (cover, blurb, formatting, publishing, marketing). A big factor that kept dragging me down was that most people don’t even finish a story (like me so far) and those that succeed in finishing and publishing end up spending more money on everything that goes into getting it published than the money they made from sales.

When you look at it logically, it is incredibly daunting and scary. But I was focusing on the wrong things. Instead of focusing on the logic and practicalities of a broad pool of statistics, I focus on how writing my stories makes me feel. Does the process of writing and the idea of getting them published bring me joy, even if they were to flop? The answer is yes.

The other big driving factor for me is asking myself this question: Am I content knowing that I will be the only person who will read this story? The answer is no.

Don’t focus on the destination, focus on the journey it takes to get there, especially if the journey brings you joy and fulfilment.

The universe kept trying to push me onto this path, and I ignored it and pushed it aside for my logical brain to take over instead of following my feelings and intuition. This feels like the right thing for me right now, so I’m going for it.

Finding Inspiration

I put my feelers out across the internet before diving into fiction writing waters again, for good this time. I followed authors and readers on Instagram and TikTok. Joined Facebook groups for readers and writers. Listened to podcasts about the craft of writing along with author interviews. I continue to do all these things.

I found interviews with authors to be the most inspirational for me. Listening to the array of normal people from vastly different backgrounds and diverse writing and publication methods made me realise that I can be one of them too. Authors are not fictitious creatures like the stories they create. They simply knuckled down and did what they had to do to get their stories published and out into the world. The one thing that united them all was persistence and perseverance, and there was no reason I couldn’t find that too if I decided I wanted it enough.

Turning Negatives to Positives

So, let me flip the above dot point list on it’s head:

• I don’t read enough: I can read more but the quantity of books read does not equate to quality writing.

• No writing or publishing connections: I can connect with and support other writers like me online!

• No literary qualificatons: I don’t need a qualification in this field and many successful authors didn’t need one eater. An eagerness and openess to learn is all I need.

• There’s no money in fiction: Some people make money from it, and some don’t. If I don’t make money from it, that’s okay by me.

• You’ll never do the story justice: I am going to do my story justice with practice and time.

• The process is daunting: The process is exciting.

• Who would want to read my stories anyway?: Someone out there wants to read my story.

• There is too much to learn: Learning is fun. Keep learning.

• You are too busy: If I have time to scroll TikTok, I can use that time to write instead.

• You are not good enough: I am good enough.

Finding the confidence to write what you truly want is a journey, but it’s one worth taking. What steps have you taken to build your confidence in writing, and how has your journey been so far? Share your experiences in the comments below!