I've always loved writing. It's a huge passion of mine, but i'm terrified to put any of my pieces out. I feel inadequate compared to other people that i see publish things. Is it normal to be insecure about your writing? I'm sure some people have felt this way, but im beyond scared.
For me, I tend to oscillate between feeling like whatever I'm writing is the greatest thing ever or feeling like it is complete and utter crap.
Things that help (for me, anyway, your mileage may vary): -getting out there and reviewing, so you can see what other people are writing and learn how to improve
-not publishing your work the second you've finished writing it. Personally, I like to revise at least a couple times before posting. I also ask myself "Can I make this any better on my own?" If the answer is no, it's time to post.
"You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure, what you do not understand." Leonardo Da Vinci
I agree with @niteowl. Sharing your work is really scary. I used to not even tell people I liked to write because I was scared they would then ask to read my stuff and tell me I'm terrible at writing. As I've gotten older, I've grown more comfortable with sharing my work, but I don't think I'll ever quite squash the fear that people won't like my writing or that I'm not good enough. Honestly, I think that goes with the territory with writing. If you feel like your writing is perfect, then how are you ever going to improve?
I want to reiterate what nite said about being ready to share your work. You don't have to post every single thing you write and you don't have to post your first draft. Wait until you feel comfortable with it and feel ready to share it and get feedback. If you're not used to sharing your work and getting feedback, try giving it to a few trusted friends or family members first. Whenever I finish a novel, I always give it to a friend of mine to read first because I know she's going to tell me she loves it. (She'll brainstorm with me about how I can make it better, but she always gives me a huge confidence boost first and tells me it's amazing :p). Once you're ready to put something on YWS, you can also include a little authors note or something at the beginning to tell people that sharing your work is still new for you and ask your reviewers to please try to be gentle until you gain more confidence.
But the bottom line is that no writer (even well known authors) are perfect at writing. Every single person can improve their craft in some way and we're all here to do just that. Reviews are never meant to be personal and reviewers (at least on this website) will always genuinely try to help you improve. Everyone has to start somewhere. Let me know if you choose to post any of your work, because I would love to help!
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
I can't really build upon what these guys have said, but what I can say is that they're 100% right.
You should never feel like you have to do anything, and if posting your writing publicly terrifies you, don't force yourself. Be patient, and slowly build up the courage. Always bear in mind that on a site like this, no one will ever judge you. Firstly, they don't know you in real life to truly be able to do so! You can be as anonymous as you like on YWS, whether that means never talking about anything besides writing, to revealing your first name and talking about your life 24/7. The main reason no one will judge you, though, is because people around here are simply nice. We've all felt how you feel, that our writing is awful, that everyone else is so much better than us e.t.c. so for us to judge you simply wouldn't make sense.
Only two people in real life actually know I write; my boyfriend and my mum. I have far too much self-doubt to tell anyone else, and so YWS is a haven in that sense. It's somewhere I can express myself and share my stuff without the pressure of cold eyes staring into me as I receive feedback directly from someone's mouth What I'm trying to say here is that you might actually find that YWS is a haven like it is for me, and as a result you'll actually want to share your stuff with people.
If you ever do feel like biting the bullet and posting something, please let me know. I'd love to help you feel more confident about doing so!
My way of dealing with it until very recently was not showing anyone anything until it was over a year old. that was so I could say to myself "but that was me back then I was a whole different person," it also gave me time for vigorous editing. As I shared more my confidence has grown. I still write for myself but am learning that it doesn't need to be perfect and that I can show it to others. Yws is a great place to grow confidence in sharing your writing.
No matter how good you are there will always be some one better and someone worse. So you must compare to yourself and I'm sure you have been improving. Sharing your writing when you are ready to, may help you improve even faster.
And I would agree with what everyone else has already said. Welcome to yws, I hope to see you around
The world is what you make of it and the universe how you dream.
What I'm trying to say here is that you might actually find that YWS is a haven like it is for me, and as a result you'll actually want to share your stuff with people.
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