5 Myths I Believed about Writing
For a non-writer who wants to be a writer
For a long time, I thought of writing as a job suitable only for seasoned professionals. Folks that had exceptional writing skills, in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, and years of work experience.
I also thought that anyone except the “pros” would be a laughing stock for penning down an article since no one would consider it credible enough.
It took me many years before realizing that all of it is untrue and now that I have, I wanted to share it with you all.
My Top 5 Myths
- You need to have years of work experience to be a writer.
This one myth has kept people from writing for years, for it makes us believe that we are not ready to be a writer, yet. We all have years of life-experiences to draw stories from and share as an expert. Moreover, no other profession other than writing comes with a promise of making you a writer.
For instance, the CTO of a tech giant hires a writer to help him write pitch emails for his prospective clients.
2. You need to master every topic you write about.
Even Newton did not have expertise in every field so it’s imbecile to consider it as a pre-requisite for writing. Yes, you need to have in-depth knowledge about anything you wish to share with people as a means to provide knowledge and information but that does not mean you need to hold a Ph.D. degree in the subject matter. Moreover, every writer is an expert in one field, sharing their stories.
For instance, You don’t need to be an English major to write about “5 common grammatical errors to avoid whilst writing.”
3. You can only write about one niche.
I am a Digital Marketing freelancer, so I always thought that writing about the same shall only be my niche. BUT, since, I did not feel ready to be sharing my learnings yet, I wouldn’t write at all. It took me some time to break out of this myth and realize that I could be a multi-purpose writer too, this way, I would be always motivated to write about my favorite topics.
For instance, storytelling is the best form of connecting with the audience but it can never fall under one niche.
4. You need to write only best-selling articles to be a successful writer
Whilst there are many ways to increase the chances of writing a great article, nobody has a formula for going viral. The goal shall be to write credible content instead of “successful” content.
For instance, we have seen numerous cases where the least anticipated articles perform well.
5. You can’t do anything else if you want to be a writer
Writing is a profession that is not meant for anybody who does not want to write whole-heartedly. Whilst there are other professions where one can thrive after learning the necessary skills, in writing there are not enough skills to “memorize” to be a good writer. However, one can always be a successful writer whilst being a professional at something else too, so, don’t let it hold you back.
For instance, you can be a magician and a writer because writing is soul food.
Writing has its own flow which can not be force-learned.
It can be a hobby, a passion, a mood-lifter, or a profession for it knows how to co-exist without draining your brains off but only if you don’t look at it as a mere necessity.
Every new writer falls into believing the above-mentioned myths before overcoming them, sharing these is a little attempt to make the process a bit easier and quicker for them.
P.S. Feel free to add to the list in the comments!
