racoma.netI love to write. I write to live. I live to love.

Oftentimes when I’ve finished drafting a blog post, I think long and hard before I hit the publish button. I wonder whether my post makes sense at all. I wonder if it will hit some nerves. I wonder if I have made mistakes. I wonder if people will critique and criticize.

And then in a moment of blind faith, I close my eyes and just click the big blue Publish button and will all my fears away.

Being a good writer is about trusting yourself–trusting yourself enough to know you’re doing the right thing by writing what you write. Trusting yourself does not always mean blind faith, though. I must admit that there I go through moments of self doubt all the time. I have insecurities. I have longings for things I oftentimes cannot attain (whether only at the moment or never at all). But what’s important here is that I try to face these fears and doubts, and move forward with the tasks at hand. When it comes to writing, to me it’s a big feat that I get to publish anything at all, especially when it comes to blogs and other mediums that require voicing out one’s thoughts and opinions.

Blogs–or any medium, for that matter–are sounding boards, after all. You have the power to share thoughts and information with the rest of the world. To some people, this might be fazing. It’s like unfolding part of your soul for the whole wide world to see. Even if what you write is not necessarily personal in nature, it can be worrisome. If you’re a journalist, then the burden becomes even heavier–you should be able to stand by the facts you report. If you’re a columnist, then you should be able to stand by the opinions you share. If you’re a novelist, then your credibility as a writer hinges on how your story can entertain and satisfy.

Each sentence and paragraph, attributed to you, becomes part of who you are. And therefore there’s the feeling of nakedness, in that you are open to critique, and possibly ridicule. Are you prepared for that? Are you prepared to take a stand and defend what you have written, if needed?

This is probably why some would write behind pseudonyms. I should know–I have done this, too, one time or another. I do have my reasons. But even then, the fact that I’ve exerted enough effort to write under a different name and personality makes me vulnerable also to feeling for that particular persona.

And so, the next time you write something and publish it in a public forum, give yourself a pat on the back. It only goes to show that you trust yourself enough, or that you are able to transcend doubts and insecurities well enough to just reach out through the written word.

image credit: flickr/just_jump