Confidence–good or bad for writers?

“Confidence is a bad thing to have as a drug addict. No drug addict deserves confidence.” This quote by actress-writer Carrie Fisher in a Wall Street Journal Magazine‘s roundup about the topic started me thinking about the role of confidence for writers.

Confidence helps

A little confidence is a good thing. Without it, you’d never touch your fingers to the keyboard. Nor would you share your words with the world.

It’s important to write to help you refine your ideas and to educate and persuade your readers. Once you create a first draft, you can review and refine it.

Don’t become overconfident

Too much confidence can hurt writers. You may become sloppy or stop learning. Most writers believe that we must continue to work at improving our craft as writers.

 

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net