AMA About Writing

How do you know if you're a good writer?

Here's a question that haunts every writer I know: how do you know if you're a good writer?

One way to answer that question is to look at what you've accomplished. Publishing a book might tell you that you're a good writer. Making the best-seller list might tell you that you're a good writer. Winning an award might tell you that you're a good writer. On Wattpad, you might be a good writer if you've achieved a certain number of reads, or votes. Or, maybe your definition of a good writer is winning a Watty Award. 

But these are external validations. And to be honest, I'm not sure if they're very useful. For one thing, you're putting a lot of power in the hands of other people. For another thing, what do they know?

I'm serious!

Writing is a subjective enterprise. Calling someone a good writer is a matter of opinion. You might love Ernest Hemingway, but what if I told you that I found his stories boring? Am I right? Are you wrong? We can, and should, think critically about Hemingway's work, but we should also acknowledge that assessing his writerly skills isn't about objectivity. In other words, there's no such thing as an objectively "good" writer.

But that's not much comfort to a writer facing self-doubt, which is what I think this question is really about. All of us, no matter how many books we sell or awards we win, face self-doubt. That's common to all writers, but it's also common to all humans. It's natural to doubt yourself. The challenge is overcoming self-doubt.

There are entire books written about overcoming self-doubt. Actually, I think there's an entire section in the bookstore about the topic. But within the context of writing, I don't think we should ask if we're good writers. I think we should ask: am I becoming a better writer?

What I like about asking that question is that it's a measure of progress. Writing is a skill, which means the more you do it, the better you get. By asking if you're a better writer, you're asking if you're making progress. Just as important, you're measuring yourself against yourself, not some arbitrary idea of what someone else thinks a good writer is supposed to be. 

So, keep writing. Keep reading your work. Keep asking yourself where you can improve. And when you find an aspect of your writing that has improved, give yourself credit. Because while none of us are "good" writers, all of us can be better writers. 

Got a question?

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