5 Tips On How To Deal With I'm Not Good Enough To Be A Writer

Although I love creating stories and reading what I wrote (I do get amazed sometimes), I occasionally still get thoughts like “what if I’m telling too much, instead of showing”, “my characters don’t really have much personality” or “my writing is too cold and detached since I’m more logical than emotional (I’m a T rather than F in MBTI)”.

Thus, I totally understand the feeling of not being a good enough writer. In fact, I’m sure most of us writers have at least experienced this once in our lives.

However, don’t let these thoughts bog you down. Rather than being trapped in a vicious cycle of negative thoughts and spiraling down into a dark pit, learn to pull yourself up and rise on your feet.

Here are 5 tips on how you can achieve this and feel that you’re a good enough writer.

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Table Of Contents

1. Identify When & What Makes You Feel Bad About Your Writing

When do you feel bad about yourself as a writer? What part of your writing makes you feel like you’re not good enough?

Here are some possible answers. But note that this list is not exhaustive and that everyone is unique (so your situation and moments might be different too).

When you’re self-editing your own draft
When your editor gives you feedback
When a reader leaves a negative review
You feel that your writing is boring or uses simple language
You believe that nobody will want to read your book
Your book isn’t as interesting as another bestseller author’s

There’s no right or wrong answer. The possibilities are endless.

The key is to know exactly when or what part makes you feel bad so you can figure out how to deal with them.

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2. Tackle Each Reason Individually With A Tailor-Made Solution

If you only have one reason why you feel not good enough, that’s great!

But if there is more than one reason, you’ll need to tackle each one on its own.

Let’s see how we can tackle each reason individually using the abovementioned examples.

Tell yourself that you’re already trying to improve your writing via self-editing
Embrace your editor’s feedback: they’re sincere & valuable & they’ll improve your craft
Acknowledge the fact that every reader is different: some may enjoy your book while others don’t (consider checking out my article on how to deal with negative book reviews)
Learn literary devices & expand your vocabulary to strengthen your writing
There will always be someone who’ll want to read your book… yourself & your loved ones!
Comparison is the thief of joy: instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on yourself & your goals

As seen above, I strongly recommend that you separate out the reasons that made you feel like you’re not a good writer and then deal with each one. Don’t lump them together into a giant mountain and get crushed by it. Instead, break them into smaller pieces and confront them one by one.

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3. Acknowledge That Your Manuscript Will Never Be 100% Perfect

I know that it’s hard to accept this but it’s true: Your manuscript will never be 100% perfect.

Whether it’s before or after you hit the publish button, all of us probably still think that there’s room for improvement. We might even want to rewrite the entire manuscript!

But bear in mind that if you keep aiming for this 100% perfection, your manuscript will never see the light of day—least of all, get in the hands of your readers.

So, acknowledge and embrace this fact. Instead, think about how each book you published is slowly getting there. Most importantly, think about how you’re learning and improving with each new book.

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4. Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself

Are you experiencing any of these symptoms?

Negative Self-Judgment: judging yourself harshly
Self-Criticism: criticizing yourself too much
Excessive Self-Blame & Self-Punishment
Engaging in negative self-talk
Dwelling on your mistakes or flaws

Watch out! You might be too hard on yourself.

When you overlook or discount your positives, you’re harming your well-being.

The key is to notice when this “I’m not good enough” feeling appears and stop it. Stop being too hard on yourself.

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5. Recognize Everything You’ve Done So Far

You’ve come a long way. From thinking about writing to actually writing your story and publishing your book. Whether you only have one or many books published under your belt, you’re an author. This is an undeniable fact.

Don’t forget what you’ve done and learned. Research has shown that we often remember negative or traumatic experiences over positive ones. So instead of dwelling on your regrets, mistakes, failures and weaknesses, try to remember your successes and joys. Remember all those milestones you’ve celebrated along your writing journey.

You can jot down these happy or successful moments in a journal or calendar. Or write them on small notes and put them in a jar. When you’re feeling down or not good enough, simply open this jar and read some happy or successful notes. Another way is to collect data. For instance, I have a word count tracker Google Sheet that I use to log my daily word count. When I look at it, I know that I’ve written a lot compared to the beginning of the year. That I’ve come a long way to hone my writing skill. You could collect data like a mood tracker of how you feel today or a rating on a scale of 1 to 10 of how you feel about yourself today. This can help you spot and reverse negative feelings and thoughts.

By remembering and noticing how much your writing skills have improved and how much you’ve learned, you will realize that you’re good enough and perhaps see yourself as a real writer.