Writing like you’ve already made it

“The hardest part about becoming famous is pretending like you already are.”

This is a poorly paraphrased quote from something I saw on TikTok (i could lie about the source, but whatever. call the police. i don’t care).

This quote/thought/amorphous idea resonated with me, because it’s definitely how I feel about writing. There’s something vaguely mortifying about writing into an abyss; writing before you are someone. Because until you are someone, you’re categorically no one. You are one of many many many people chasing the same pipe dream, and for some reason, having that optimism is a little embarrassing.

But you have to be brave and pretend like there is this phantom weight behind your words. That there is an audience hanging on to every word. You have to write with the confidence that it categorically will be read.

There isn’t really any other way — writing should boldly be written for consumption. An insecure narrator is hardly compelling, and why would I care about your writing if I don’t think even you believe in it?

However, cultivating this faux self-assurance is quite the task. This is an extended play of fake it til you make it.

And I realize now that the title of this post may be misleadingly prescriptive. I don’t have many ideas or motivation to share with you. But now that you’re already here, I’ll pull out the ones I know.

• Your writing voice should be one octave lower than your…