The Consequences of Comparison

Hello, writers! It's been a while, but we're back for another blog post, and I hope you're as excited as I am.

For my first post after a few months off, I wanted to talk about the bane of a writer's existence:

Comparison.

The Benefits of Studying Others' Work.

One of the best ways to refine your writing is reading the work of others.

As I've said before, the more you read, the better you'll write. This teaches you what you love to see in literature and shows you certain ways of writing that catch your fancy. Writing what you like to read is a great way to grow and refine your prose.

Reading others’ work with the mindset of a writer is good. It can help you figure out what you like about your writing and what you want to improve. It is one of the best ways to become a better writer based on what you like to see and read in literature. The problem that often comes into play is comparison.

The bane of a writer's existence.

Picture this:

You're reading a good book. Maybe this writer just has a beautiful paragraph or you really like their prose, and you begin to think, “Wow. My writing is nothing like this person’s." And slowly, the doubt begins to creep in. Thoughts of not being good enough, of your writing being unimportant, your plot being dumb, or your book simply not being worth writing start to fill your mind. The more you think about it, the more you wonder if you're even worth being called a writer—if you're actually even good enough to ever write anything worth reading.

The classic case of imposter syndrome.

I guarantee you that every writer has felt this way at least once in their life.

Comparison can be a killer.

But you're not alone in your fight against it.

Combatting comparison.

Remember, that a finished book will have undergone tons of editing. This is most certainly not what the first draft looked like. Never compare your first draft to a finished book.

All writers write different. No two voices are alike. There may be similarities between the way certain writers write, but they are never exact. There is something unique about every single writer’s voice. Maybe it’s their word choice; maybe it’s their prose; maybe it’s the way they like to break up paragraphs, or the formatting they use frequently for sentences.

If one writer looks at another writer's work, they're most likely going to find something they wish they did as well as that writer. The grass often really does seem greener on the other side of the fence.

But that writer who you're comparing yourself to, might possibly look at your work and find something they wish they did as well as you. Comparison is an endless cycle, and it's important to realize that comparing yourself to others doesn't help you. Instead, working to continually make your writing better by learning from your triumphs and mistakes is how you can improve.

Don't focus on unique-ness.

While we love unique storylines, they’re hard to create.

Now, I’m not saying it’s alright to steal other writer’s words or ideas; that is never okay. I’m simply emphasizing the fact that there are so many stories out there. This makes it hard to write something completely and utterly unique. I’m not saying your work isn’t original. I’m only saying there are going to be books with plot points, tropes, character names, or world-building ideas that are similar to your own. It’s almost inevitable.

This doesn't mean you need to stop writing a book once you find out someone else is already writing something with that trope or world-building idea in it.

Shift you're focus from writing something no one has ever written before to writing something you want to write—putting your ideas on paper.

I love writing about stars. They're something I've added into a few of my WIPs in the past, and are involved heavily in my current WIP. But I know several people who also have stars involved in their WIPs. Does that mean I need to suddenly stop writing mine because other people have already thought of this idea? No. It's still my book. It's still orginal. Even though lots of other people have already used stars in their books, that doesn't make my writing any less worthy.

There's a difference between taking someone else's ideas, and happening to have something in your book that's already been used in the world of literature.

If this never happened, you wouldn't have clichés.

And while clichés are not the most desirable thing, there is definitely a market for them in writing. You’ll find that there are many people who will specifically purchase a book based off the cliché within it, the trope used. Why? Because they want to see this writer’s spin on it.

Unique-ness has a time and a place.

But when you're writing, try to steer your focus away from writing uniquely and towards simply writing a story.

Don't pressure yourself to be perfect.

Your will never be perfect. Ever.

But that's not a writer's job.

No writer is ever perfect. We all make mistakes. That's the beauty of writing. It's not a one-shot-only hobby. The more you do it, the better you'll get. And most mistakes you make aren't going to be mistakes that anyone even sees. Afterall, it is an editor's job to catch those before you publish—whether you're editing it yourself or having someone else do it.

Perfecting your writing is impossible. But finetuning it, refining it, making it the best it can possibly be... That is what you want to do.

So don't let comparison get you down.

You are an amazing writer, and instead of comparing your work to others', choose to learn from the differences.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the contact box down below.

As always, happy writing!

-Jocelyn