Most of the writing struggle comes from doubting oneself. Every writer goes through that doubt and knows somewhere they are not perfect. Their writing will never be perfect. On most days, they sit down and write. They do this routinely enough to demand attention for writing.
Even on my bad days, I try to write 150-200 words minimum. On good days, I write from 800-1000 words. The goal is to not judge, the goal is to follow the process.
Discipline
This takes discipline. Every artist knows the imposter syndrome. Our minds can be dangerous machines. Even on good days, it will make you doubt that you are not writing well enough. It will make you question what you have written. The goal is to overcome this doubt every day for the rest of your life. All good writers know they are good, but they are also not good enough.
Failure
Bad writing is not a failure, but not writing is. As the quote says, you can correct bad writing, but not an empty page. Not following the process is a failure. Follow the process and you are on the path to excellence.
Feedback
Get feedback as soon as possible. Feedback on your process is key to improving your skill. Read loudly what you have written, or share what you have written with your friends and editors. Share on public blogs or forums. Feedback will take you in the right direction in your process. The Internet can be brutal. But don’t let the praise or criticism go over your head.
Master other skills
To improve writing, you can equally try other skills. The brain works in mysterious ways. When you learn something new, it unlocks your learning potential. It makes you curious and imaginative to challenge the new skill with a fresh mind. It keeps you open to understanding the skill, it keeps you open for feedback. Now, use the same mindset back to your original skill. Don’t become dogmatic with one viewpoint for your main skill. Learn and adapt.
Work with experts
Find out the experts in your skill. Talk to them, read about them. Find their routine. Find their thought process. Most experts are not naturally talented, but they have practiced the skill long enough to look like they are masters of their skill.
Experts will give different advice, but don’t get deterred. All you have to do is to trust yourself.
First Quantity, then quality
In the beginning, write a lot. Quantity matters. Keep writing even if it is bad. Don’t judge your writing. And slowly, when you start building your voice, start editing your writing. After quantity, comes quality.
Quality takes time, quantity gives the confidence to keep going. Don’t overthink. Write a lot of crap to find the gold in it.
To conclude this post, reflect on this question – What if there was no failure? Whatever you write, it works. Everybody reads what you have written without saying good or bad things. How will you write? OR will you still doubt about writing?