The more you know the more there is to learn. As a writer, I find that as my skills improve, my confidence becomes shakier. Why this is, I do not know, but it’s the truth. When I first began my career as a freelance writer, I was full to the brim with confidence. I could do no wrong. Of course, there was a lot wrong with my writing, but I was blissfully unaware. Ignorance truly was bliss. Now, even though my skills have improved, I find myself questioning every word, every sentence, and every paragraph.

Why is that? Why does knowledge beget hesitation? It’s true in other areas of life. The more you learn the less ability you have to commit to a course of action. You are always exploring the angles, trying to understand just a bit more. You want to be sure. You want to know before you commit, but you will never know. You will never be 100-percent sure that something is just right.

As a writer, this is difficult. When you write you need to simultaneously prepare yourself for rejection and be confident enough to click submit. One of the first books on writing I ever picked up was Orson Scott Card’s How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy.

 
In this book, I read a passage that has stayed with me for close to twenty years. I am paraphrasing (my memory is not THAT good),”When it is time to send in a manuscript, you must believe it is the greatest thing ever written. When the postman picks it up, you must believe it is the biggest steaming pile of crap ever written.”

There is a lot of truth in that statement. Just like stepping on stage, it takes a supreme amount of courage for a writer to put their skill on display, and submit themselves to the possible jeers of the masses. Is that why others often view actors, artists, and writers as arrogant? A writer or artist’s arrogance is a defense mechanism. Without that arrogance or confidence, maybe, we could never muster the courage to do anything at all.

Of course, the flipside of a writer’s psyche is their fragile, easily shattered ego. That is why, for some writers, preparing for rejection is so vital. Without that buffer of,”Well I knew it wasn’t any good, “a rejection can cripple some writers. They will lock themselves in their room bemoaning how something they thought was fantastic could be panned so mercilessly. Writers are freaking weird, but you already knew that.

So what is the point of this rambling post?

I suppose it is this. Whatever it takes, find your confidence. Find your arrogance. If it takes chanting Stuart Smalley’s mantra into the mirror ever morning, do it. If it takes a primal yell and war paint before you sit down at the keyboard, do it. If you have to write angry, bitter, happy, passionate, sad, or psychotic, do it. Whatever it takes to muster the courage to proclaim to the world, “I am this good. Forget good. I am this great!” do it.

Having the confidence in yourself to put yourself out there is the only way you will ever succeed as a writer. Otherwise, you will stay hidden. You will never put your name on anything. You will hide behind middlemen and intermediaries. You will never be able to command what you are truly worth. That doesn’t mean you should become so arrogant that you stop trying to learn, but switch around how you think about learning. Don’t think of what you do not know and how that makes you inadequate. Think of opportunities to learn as ways to become better than you already are.

So, dear readers, any thoughts, suggestions, stories about marshalling your inner General Patton?