The number of authors that I’ve heard say, “I was never good at English,” or “I never considered myself to be a writer,” is outstanding.
Perhaps you feel the same way.
It’s a myth to think that you have to be an English whizz to write well or be born a natural writer.
I think that anyone who is passionate about what they are writing about can write something worth reading. The problem is that many people feel imposter syndrome and disqualify themselves before they even start.
It’s easy to look at others and think they write so much better than us or think that because we don’t have all the skills, we can’t begin. Often, imposter syndrome will stop us from achieving our writing goals.
The reality is that no one is a perfect writer, and how great is that? This shows us that we need people to help us in the writing process. We need other people to teach us and learn from. We need the words of others to inspire us. We need a team of people in the book-publishing journey.
If you’re concerned about not knowing how to publish your book, or if you’re feeling inadequate in your paragraph structure or confused about grammar, don’t let that stop you from writing. The finer details of paragraph flow, clarity and structure can be fine-tuned later, and an editor can help with those things.
For some people, writing comes naturally. But even then, there is still editing to be done. So regardless of whether writing comes naturally to you or not, your words will need fine-tuning either way. Let that encourage you because no one writes perfectly. We all need help.
If you’re an author, and you find yourself caught up in the details and wondering how you’ll be able to structure your book, don’t let those details overwhelm you. Focus on writing. Set small goals and begin there.
Keep writing—every day if you can. And keep reading. The more you read, the better writer you become.
As you commence the writing journey and focus on your words, you’ll learn along the way, your confidence will grow, and one day you’ll look back and be glad you kept writing!
The Editing Eagle 