Writing is the first thing most people are ever judged on. Before formal education, children are taught to be curious and to play. There are no right or wrongs with explorations, only new lessons and discoveries.

But when we start to write, suddenly there are rules. We spell things wrong, use the wrong grammar, or the reader (usually a teacher) doesn’t understand what we are trying to say.

For the first time in our lives, we are not good enough.

Many of my Writing Coaching clients come to me believing they are bad writers. They feel that their spelling and grammar faults are failures and that they cannot possibly become published or confident writers. I disagree.

Writing, like any skill, requires practice to become better and more confident. Through consistent writing, we can hone in on our own writer’s voice and ability to convey nuanced meanings and intentions through the written word.

To be able to get to this point, however, it is important to build confidence in our writing so that these writing sessions feel comfortable, familiar, and enticing. Without self-confidence, you may face writer’s block, imposter syndrome, and intense self-doubt at every attempt to write.

I have compiled a list of the 10 most important steps to take when wanting to improve your self-confidence in writing and overcome that self-doubt.

1. Write Like No One’s Reading

Often insecurities in writing stem from the idea of others reading our work. Imagining a friend, peer, or even a stranger reading your writing brings up feelings of stress and fear. Suddenly, every error becomes crystal clear and nothing you write feels good enough for someone else.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. Your writing only needs to be good enough for you.

Try writing a few words or pages with the intention of sharing it with nobody else. You can even plan on deleting the document as soon as it’s finished to ensure it isn’t shared. You might just find that you feel instantly more confident writing when you let go of the pressure of someone else reading it.

2. Use Grammar Tools

Bad grammar or spelling is the biggest source of insecurity in writing for so many new or aspiring writers. Not only can the fear of poor spelling and grammar stop someone from sharing their writing, but it can cause almost instant feelings of shame and embarrassment amid the writing process.

In 2024, this doesn’t need to be a concern. There are so many completely free tools that will check and instantly fix your grammatical or spelling errors as you write. With a tool like Grammarly.com, you can let go of the shame associated with knowing and understanding the technical rules of writing.

Even without these tools, the quality of your writing is completely unrelated to the ability to spell complex words or correctly use a semi-colon. You can pay someone to proofread your work, you cannot pay them to write in your voice.

3. Make The Act of Writing Feel Good

Part of the writing process is learning to block out the world. You need to find ways to ignore those negative thoughts and self-doubt, and zone fully into the page in front of you. Some of this comes from inner work and confidence, but you can also hack the system. Fake till you make it. If you can’t fight the negative voices in your head just yet, learn to drown them out.

Putting in your noise-cancelling headphones and playing a Lofi playlist can trick your mind into concentrating on your writing. Using music with a rhythmic melody and no lyrics helps you to focus in on the work at hand and limit distractions that take you back to reality.

Try experimenting with different writing locations either in your home or the outside world, like working from a coffee shop. Make the space welcoming and comfortable, somewhere you want to go.

You can even make sure to treat yourself whenever you write. This might be by making a delicious coffee or using your favourite notebook. Building self-confidence in writing can be hard, you deserve to reward yourself.

4. Create Small Goals

The self-doubt in our mind tries to tell us that our dream projects are too big to achieve. We put pressure on ourselves to be able to finish a novel, complete an essay, or share blog posts on LinkedIn. Imagining that final product can motivate us, but without confidence, it instead crushes our desire to start.

Deciding how to perfectly phrase that first line or sentence can seem an impossible task to start. So don’t. The first step is to simply put pen to paper and write anything. Don’t fall prey to expecting yourself to be able to write 5000 words a day every day when you’re just starting out.

Set small and achievable goals that you can hit each day. This will give you a ‘win’ and prove to yourself that you can do this. The goal could be to write something every day, to share your writing with one person, or to simply create a new document.

5. Write Often

Practice practice practice. Writing is a skill. By definition, the more you do it, the better you will become. If you want to improve your self-confidence in writing you need to learn how to hone your craft and feel that you really know what you’re doing.

Watching yourself improve at a skill and be able to do things you couldn’t when you started out is a huge confidence boost. You are hitting new achievements every time you write, and without noticing, you’ll suddenly look back and realise how far you’ve come.

Ideally, you can find a way to introduce a daily writing practice into your life to really commit to your writing journey. If that isn’t possible, try and schedule dedicated writing sessions into your calendar as often as you can to protect and commit to that writing time.

6. Learn From Experienced Writers

We are our own worst critics. Trying to judge or critique our own writing is almost a useless exercise as it is impossible to approach it without bias, especially for someone struggling with confidence.

As an aspiring writer, you should be consuming as much work from other writers as possible. Learn from writers who have the careers or writing style you aspire to reach.

Reading the writing of others works to teach you new techniques, inspire you with bigger ideas, and remind you that every writer’s voice is unique. Your writing might not read the same as another person’s, but that’s what makes it yours.

7. Work With a Coach

A Writing Coach is the biggest external support when it comes to building self-confidence and overcoming doubt. They act as a supporter through the challenges of imposter syndrome, writer’s block, and self-criticism to help you to not give up on your writing aspirations.

A writing coach is also your accountability partner, setting goals for you and tracking your success. They can create a schedule to ensure you are progressing in writing and be a mentor in reading your work and offering writing advice.

Working with a coach ensures that you don’t let your fear of failing stop you from starting.

Read more about my Writing Coach Services or What is a Writing Coach?

8. Make Your Dreams Big

Whilst you shouldn’t set your goals on finishing that one huge project, when it comes to dreaming you don’t need to hold back. Allow yourself to believe that you can achieve whatever you put your mind to through small steps.

Don’t limit your writing capabilities to private and small. Embrace the reality that with practice and many small steps, there is no reason you cannot become a published author or followed writer.

Remember that everyone starts somewhere and your journey is at just the beginning. Aim for the moon and land among the stars.

9. Practice Sharing Your Writing

It may be tempting to keep your new hobby or project a secret, but secrecy leads to procrastination! Speaking your goals into reality works and telling people what you’re working on is the only way for it to actually happen.

You don’t need to share everything all the time, but practising sharing something small here and there will help to build your confidence. This might be in the form of a handwritten birthday card, a short poem, or an email update.

Whatever form the writing takes, each small step towards sharing will provide you with proof that your work is wanted and well-received.

10. Celebrate Your Wins

Positive reinforcement is always going to inspire more productivity than negative. Telling yourself that you are a bad writer is the quickest way to give up.

Even when you’re feeling negative about your writing, especially then even, try and find something that you are proud of. Maybe you wrote every day for a week or finished a particularly difficult paragraph. Perhaps you even spent an evening reading instead of scrolling social media.

Whatever the win is, it deserves to be celebrated. Track these successes over time and watch as your completed goals list becomes longer and longer. Just by reading this post, you are working hard and making progress.

Give yourself permission to feel proud.

This is my writing advice as a creative coach in the process of publishing their debut novel. It is so important to remember that we all start somewhere and making the decision to show up and try is an amazing step. You can read more in Can Anyone Write? or Essential Writing Exercises to Access Your Creative Flow.

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What’s helped you most on your writing journey? Leave a comment down below.