Four Reasons Why It’s Normal Not to Like Your Own Writing:

I’ve never met a writer who likes what they’ve written. I know a couple who’ll say they do, but as soon as you start to read it, they’ll correct themselves slowly by saying the first couple chapters are slow, or their beginning isn’t finished, or they’re still figuring out how to word a specific idea. This gets especially bad when it comes to writing that’s creative, or being used as a form of self expression.

Now I’m not shaming these people - I’m one of them! And that’s not only perfectly fine, but it’s also the way that things are set up to be, for many different reasons. 

Here’s the four clearest that I could think of.

1. The vast majority of writing that you can compare your work to has already been not only published, but overseen by teams of editors.

Because of this, in comparing your own work to the things you like to read, you’re making a false comparison. That book sure as anything didn’t look like that when the original writer first finished. The writer themselves had a pretty arduous revision and rejection process that they likely went through prior to getting their work edited by people who would maybe publish it. I think a lot of times this sets people up for failure when it comes to confidence in their own work. What you’ve written is great! It’s called a work-in-progress for a reason!

2. You have already read it.

Even our favorite stories become dull when we read them for the umpteenth time! If you’re really burned out from something you’ve written, the best thing you can do is go write or read something else for a while, before returning to your project with the vigor you had when you started it. It’s not that the writing is suddenly bad, it might just be that you’re bored.

3. You know what comes next.

You know where that cliffhanger leads, you know the protagonist ends up okay, you who wins at the end of the story, and you know the next idea you’re presenting! Because of that, a lot of the tension that exists for audiences won’t be there for you, especially on your third or fourth read through. While this can’t really be solved by taking a break from the piece (I’d hope you wouldn’t forget your story/content that easily), it can be solved by letting other people in! Whether it be a writing consultant (we will help workshop creative pieces!), a close friend, or even just a community online, hearing feedback from others is an essential step in the writing process. Don’t be afraid to let your voice be known!

4. You’re looking for errors.
   

When you're editing a story or other work of writing that you’ve written, you’re looking for mistakes. Due to that, you’re being blinded to a lot of the good that your writing has in store. You need to remember that most audiences won’t be so critical, and are looking to enjoy the story/characters/emotion that you’re sharing with them, not to critique how well your sentences are divided.

All in all, it is perfectly normal not to like your own writing, and it doesn't mean that you’re a bad writer. The only thing that could make you a bad writer is if you quit writing because you think you’re bad at it. So keep writing, and know that there’s always going to be people ready to read what you’ve written!