There are those inevitable moments that I finish a piece of writing and wonder “why the heck would anybody like this?” That tiny voice is my inner critic and a big part of my job is to make sure it has no influence on my writing life.

I avoid writing because it can be hard and scary. Not in life or death jump out of a plane scary, but the self examination and not liking what you see kind of scary. Putting down words offers them up for judgement and I worry that people will think my writing is poor. Sometimes that feeling is so overwhelming that kill a story before  it’s even written down. Being preoccupied with what other people think about your work is normal and natural for a writer.

Perhaps that idea was a piece of crap and showing it to anybody would have been a mistake, but it would not have been a waste of time. Judging work is not an author’s job and the needs of an audience should never factor into the decision to write something. I’m not saying that the audience doesn’t factor into my writing at all, they matter at a certain point in the process. When it comes to developing an idea though, the audience should be furthest from your mind.

Write what you know, write what makes you feel good and don’t worry too much about where it is going to go. Figure out what you’ve got first and appreciate anything born from your fingertips. If you feel this is a piece of writing worth sharing with the world then invite that audience into your psyche and listen to their input with clear eyes and a full heart. If not then simply file it away and appreciate it for what it is—your idea.

The true motivation to finish anything for publication is having personal stakes in the outcome or else it is going to become a chore to finish. If I feel comfortable with an idea then it will be an easy sell to an audience.
This isn’t a garauntee that everybody will love what you write— far from it. I’m just saying that it is not my place to judge whether something is good or bad. It’s my job to do to see every one of my ideas to their full potential.