5 Reasons You’re Not Living Up To Your Creative Writing Potential

Each of us has far greater creative writing potential within us than we realise.
How often do you feel you’re writing at your very best level, and produce writing that you’re very proud of?
If the answer is “hardly ever” or “never”, then read on for 5 reasons you might not be living up to your full creative writing potential:
1. You compare yourselves too much to others. If you’re writing your first piece in a new genre and compare yourself to the masters of that genre, you’re setting yourself up for a fall. We all have our unique style of writing, and by following and practicing what we enjoy writing, we can hone this style. No-one else can write like you, be proud of that and focus on developing and enjoying your own style, rather than negatively comparing yourself to others and dismissing your own efforts.
2. You don’t have enough ideas. The most common reason we don’t feel we have enough ideas is simply that we don’t record them when they come to us. So you have a great idea, don’t write it down because you think you’ll remember it, then days later remember having the idea, but have no recollection of what it was. The answer is to keep a notebook, or voice recorder with you at all times, and capture those ideas immediately they occur. The more you do, the more ideas will flow.
3. You expect to write perfectly every time. When you have the expectation that every sentence you write has to be stunningly original and brilliant the moment it leaves your mind, that creates a huge and unrealistic pressure. The higher this expectation, the harder it’ll become to write. Accept that, for the greatest writers the world has seen, to reach the best stuff you will also produce plenty that’s not so good. That’s natural and it’s ok! Keep writing, keep flowing, and you’ll see the gems evolve.
4. You focus on volume rather than enjoyment. Do you feel that unless you write at least 5000 words in a session, it’s hardly worth even starting? Volume does not equal great writing. More importantly, if you’re only looking at word count, you won’t enjoy your writing anything like as much as you can. There can be more satisfaction in writing a couple of lines of poetry than in thousands of words of prose you didn’t enjoy for a moment. Write what you enjoy writing.
5. You don’t acknowledge past glories. An easy trap to fall into is developing the kind of amnesia that most of us who write have. We only remember the last one or two pieces we wrote and conveniently forget all the other wonderful stuff we’ve written in the past. Take the time to collect together the “Greatest Hits” of your writing, the work you’re most proud of. It will remind you not only how much you’ve written, but give you huge encouragement for new writing projects.
Which of these reasons seem most familiar to you? What single step can you take today to move forward in your creative writing in this particular area?