As a coach, I often find myself making suggestions that go against the grain of conventional writing advice.

You don't have to write every day.
Write the book you want to write, not the one you think will sell.
Write to find out what happens, not because you know what happens.

Yet as unconventional as these ideas might be, I trust them wholeheartedly.

Experience—my own and my clients'—has taught me that you'll write more when you ease the pressure. Creating the book you should write is awfully hard to do if you don't also love it. And when you're surprised by what you write your reader will be too (in a good way).

When I ask writers to try these things, I know that I'm asking them to trust too. I'm asking them to trust the writing process, and I'm asking them to trust themselves. That might not come easy if they feel like they they're missing the requisite experience.
 

But you don't have to have written a book in order to trust that you can. You don't have to have landed an assignment in order to trust you have what it takes to do so.

How do I know? Because you're more than a writer. You have a wealth of experience to draw from. And one way to grow your trust in your writing is to grow your trust in yourself. 

Grab some pen and paper and start right now by answering these prompts:

• What have you accomplished in the past, writing or something else, that you're proud of?
• What skills and talents allowed you to do that? 
• What can you always trust yourself to do?

Let us know what you discover in the comments below or join the conversation on the Writing Strides Facebook page.

P.S. Ready for a writing breakthrough? Break free from writing rules that don't work and find your way with my FREE three-part series: Inside the Writers Mind. The first insight (and writing prompt) could be yours today.