Welcome to the writing world! Even the most established writers doubt their competencies — whether they’re native English speakers or not.

And thank you so much for your kind words. I really appreciate it!

Keep writing,
Laurie

Thank you for this very helpful post. I am a freelance writer, and I am a non-native English speaker. Although I can say that I am confident with my English speaking and writing abilities, there are still times that I doubt my competency as a writer. This is the same reason I’ve been looking for some good read over the Web that’ll help me boost my confidence as a writer, and improve my writing abilities in general. I am glad to have found your site because you don’t only offer tips for your fellow writers; you also encourage them to do better by being an inspiration. Your positive outlook in life is evident in your writings and it’s infectious!

Again, thank you for this post. You’ve helped me accomplished a ‘difficult writing’ task today.

Happy Freelancing,
Clarisse

Michael ~ “writing from the heart” is advice that is amazingly easy to ignore! Writers get caught up in selling articles, making enough money to pay the bills, not pitching ideas they think editors might think are “stupid”, and even losing touch with what they really want to write about.

Writing from the heart is important for web writers and bloggers, too.

All good things,
Laurie

The best advice I ever received was “write from your heart.” My early reading is very much in the old philosophical tradition, where the author had to be as invisible as possible. Theme-based examination of issues, even in the fiction. Themes and issues remain at the heart of my writing, but to make them the only thing is just boring for the reader, and eventually the writer. It’s okay to see me in my words. I don’t have to squash my heart like a bug.

I received the advice about 30 years ago. I started listening about 10 years ago. It made a difference. Or at least, it does when I’m not procrastinating, lacking ideas, noticing the lack of readers, searching for incentive…

You have managed to capture the essence of literally all of the things that can slow us down as writers. Good advice to review and keep handy. I think I’ve suffered through most all of these at one time or another and sometimes they have even dog-piled on me.

Yet another bookmark in my browser for something I need to keep handy.

George