Writing Confidence

[Reviewed_By_Julie]

I have a friend who is a talented writer. I believe she has had 2 poems published. However, she lacks the confidence to keep going and putting her work out there for all to see. What encouragement can I give my friend to keep writing? She is very good, and I would hate for the world to only discover most of her work after her life is over like Emily Dickinson. Any suggestions on how to encourage a writer to increase writing confidence?

[RayneGodd]

Honestly, the best thing that you can do as a friend is actively engage your writer friend in discussions about her work. If she is a poet, talk to her about poetry and recommend the stuff that you read that you like, or link her to poetry competitions. Keep getting involved and enouraging her, that's honestly all you can do.

[cadelfavreau]

Remind your friend that the flaws she sees are usually only seen by her, and most people don't share that perspective. this is really helpful when I write

[lisalynn]

No matter how good or bad your work, someone will love it and someone will hate it. And if they hate it, the anonymity of the internet lets them be really nasty about it. Unfortunately, the ones who love it will be far less vocal. The brutal truth is, you have to be tough to be "out there." I know that doesn't answer the question about how to encourage someone, but perhaps knowing the challenge is part of conquering it.

[Kyrenora]

Personally, I would recommend she try using a pseudonym. Perhaps if she has that level of anonymity, it will decrease her fear of failure.

[Reviewed_By_Julie]

That's an interesting perspective.

[ElizaPeaks]

Consistently ask your friend about what she's been writing! And ask before she brings it up herself. Furthermore, there's a certain level of stress that comes with a desire to publish; oftentimes, once having published a few pieces, writers can become anxious. There is fear that none of our other work will be good enough, and this can drive us to write for performance sake rather than write to express ourselves. Keep asking your friend about what she's been writing, and keep in mind this idea of performance vs expression!

[Inkroverts]

You can ask her what she is afraid of? Does she believe people don't like her poems? Or does she think she can't make a living out of writing poems?