If I’m A Creative Writer, Shouldn’t I Already Know How To Write

Many of us who write are caught in a dilemma.
On the one hand we feel we can’t justify calling ourselves a “real” writer because we haven’t been published enough, or we don’t think we’re talented enough or our work isn’t up to standard. On the other hand, we don’t want to seek any help, take any courses, try any creative writing exercises or learn any new writing techniques because we feel if we were a “real” writer, we shouldn’t need to, we should already know how to write.
So we drift in frustration in this midpoint, this no man’s land of writing very little, if anything at all, not able to take the next step to being a better writer, and not wanting to give up completely because writing is so important to us.
The solution is to learn how to let go of your “shoulds”, your preconceptions of what a real writer “should” be doing.
We’re not born into the world knowing how to speak, how to read, how to write. All of these we’re taught, and as we learn, we improve and evolve. At some point along the line, the dreaded “shoulds” drop in and we abandon this wonderful attitude of being open to learning and experimenting that got us so far.
Instead of thinking the way to become a better writer is to write more, to try new writing techniques and different writing exercises, and to read and study how others write, we suddenly feel that every thing we write should appear perfectly formed before us because that’s what real writers “should” be able to do.
How much does this kind of attitude exist in your creative writing life?
How often do you feel you can’t seek out new ways of learning to write because if you’re already a writer you should already know every single way to write already?
Being a writer is a lifelong journey of exploring, learning and discovering.
The more you read, the more techniques you use, the more different writing exercises you experiment with, the richer your writing becomes, and the more clearly you’re able to write just as you. That willingness to evolve and learn and write is the mark of a “real” writer, not just sitting around expecting your next work to appear perfectly formed before you at first attempt.
So if your expectations and “shoulds” are getting in the way of you evolving into the best writer you can be – the writer that’s most YOU – then take the action to start to change that around today.