Break Your Fear to Be… I Mean A Good Writer

I still don’t remember when the first time I started expressing my feelings and ideas into words.

Maybe when I was in senior high school? Or in university?

What I remember, I found myself in a difficult moment to write what’s inside my mind. Like, I was scared of something.

For someone’s thoughts on my writing?

Or for my expectations to be the “perfectionist” one?

I didn’t know, I just wished to find an escape from that moment. And until I really did…

Writing is not Something You Should be Afraid of

When I was in university, I had a writing class that helped me to figure out the perfect outline of essay writing.

I am an English Literature student from Indonesia. So, it’d be difficult to write an essay when you know… English isn’t my native language.

I could say, I and other students understand English sentences. But when we asked to write or speak, we assumed it was our biggest fear.

Noobs make mistakes, either pros do the same.

I tried by free writing to really put my ideas into words. A voice in my mind that convinced me said, “Write down what you are thinking now, girl! No one will judge you, even if you ask to.”

I did.

And something made me realize that I should’ve started writing confidently… is my lecture.

She helped me a lot and made corrections for my first writing. Let’s say it wasn’t an essay because I thought it was very thin and short.

But you know, I got an A!

An A for my first writing!!!

I wanted to cry but, I was in the class, lol.

And yea… It made me realize that I shouldn't be afraid to start writing for every idea and thoughts I had. Like you know, who will judge you?

Now I am… Not A-Really-Good but a Writer

After having writing class, I felt like I am very interested in this industry, as I can share my own ideas. So, I decided to take a freelance job as a Content Writer.

Even though in my first career, I decided to be an Indonesian Content Writer, day by day, I boosted my confidence to start applying for a job as a full-time writer.

Thank God, Garuda Website gives me an opportunity to be part of their writer team. I have a responsibility to produce articles in Indonesian and English. This is going to be my biggest chance to improve that my “non-native language.”

But doing a job and accomplishing tasks from lecture is not the same.

I was afraid (again) that I couldn’t give the best contributions for the company. And writing multi-niche English articles is not as easy as I thought.

However, I kept going, practicing and practicing…

I can’t say that I am a good one, but I am a writer, who will never stop writing. No matter how hard it is, I will keep going.

Do They Trust Me? Or am I Just Dreaming?

Garuda Website is a digital marketing agency (focuses on SEO), which is my dream company.

I still can’t believe the opportunity they gave to me. They trust my skill that I am able to produce many types of content, such as guidelines, how-to, and even for their landing pages.

One piece of content that I am very proud of is about 200+ Google ranking factors, which has more than 11.000 words.

You might think this is such a piece of cake, but for me, it requires a lot of process and time.

And my company also trusts me to manage our new blog, The Truth is Now (an Indonesian blog).

Am I just dreaming? Please, tell me… Am I just dreaming?

My Writing Tips When I Was A Beginner

I achieved my dream and goals because of a lot of practice. So, I wanted to share what I have done in my very beginning to be a writer.

1. Write Every Day

Writing every day will develop your skills and improve your ability to write grammatically correct and engaging sentences.

2. Using Active Voice

You know, active voice is more engaging than passive voice. You can consider "My sister baked the cake" better than "The cake was baked by my sister."

3. Clear and Concise

You can use clear and concise language to communicate your point effectively. But avoid using language as flowery language that can obscure your point.

4. Be Descriptive

Try to use descriptive language to help your audiences picture your words in their minds. This will make what you wrote more understandable to the reader.

5. Avoid Overused Words

Don't use overused phrases or words. You need to come up with unique ways to describe what you are trying to explain.

6. Transition Word is Important

Using transition words will help to guide your reader from one idea to the next. These transition words include: however, nevertheless, therefore, and more.

7. Consider Your Audiences

Always understand who will be your audience, so that you can write for their needs and perspectives using language and style that they can easily understand.

8. Italics and Bold Used Sparingly

Avoid overuse italics and bold formatting. The more you use them, the less emphasis you have on important points in your writing.

9. Be Consistent with Your Tone

You need to be consistent with your tone throughout your article. This will make your reader enjoy reading your points.

For example, if you want to add some humor, it should be a humorous piece throughout your writing.

10. Review and Edit

Before publishing your writing, read through it carefully and review it for any edits or improvements that need to be made.

Well, We Should Keep Going for Our Dream

I am not a-really-good writer, but from the experiences I had, fear is something you should ignore. It will just block and lock you in your mind.

As long as your writing is not against the law, then what makes you afraid?

Especially, for you, who have a dream to be an English writer, but you know the fact that you are no-native, it’s OK.

No one will judge you. You can check your essays, poems, and articles in Grammarly before publishing them to an online platform. So, you will know which sentences have error grammar.