Stop Comparing. Start Writing.

If you’re a writer, one of the quickest ways to grind your craft to a halt is by comparing yourself to others. Every era has its Hemmingway's, its Didion's, its Murakami's. There will always be people who, on paper, seem to be writing circles around you, landing the best deals, getting the most attention, or producing prose that looks flawless. But when did writing become a competition? Here’s the reality: it didn’t. The only writer you’re really up against is yesterday’s version of yourself.

Writing isn’t about who does it “better.” It’s about who does it authentically, who’s saying something in a way that no one else can replicate. Your job is not to measure yourself against the most successful writers you admire, or the ones who’ve been at it for decades longer. You’re here to dig into what makes your perspective unique. Ironically, the moment you start letting go of comparisons, you’ll find it’s a lot easier to write in a voice that feels distinct. Comparison robs us of that uniqueness because it gets us fixated on standards, tropes, and voices that aren’t ours.

Now, let’s address the most insidious part of the comparison game. It’s a distraction. Spending time wondering if your writing stacks up keeps you from actually doing the work. It’s procrastination hiding behind ambition. The truth is, the best writers aren’t the ones preoccupied with how they rank among their peers. They’re the ones who are consistent. They’re the ones who sit down every day, in whatever spare time they have, and put words on the page. They’re also the ones who rewrite, revise, and refine, over and over. It’s a disciplined, messy, but ultimately rewarding process.

When you’re constantly comparing, you’re not writing. You’re in your head, debating your worth, trying to measure your potential by someone else’s metrics. And here’s the irony. Even those writers you admire probably started by writing without any audience in mind, without any intention of competing. Great work comes from authenticity, from pursuing ideas that intrigue you, not because they’re trendy or guaranteed to succeed. Many of the writers we idolize today wouldn’t have met our own impossible standards if they had compared themselves to their contemporaries.

So, here’s the real takeaway. The time you spend comparing yourself to others could be spent honing your own voice. Instead of scrolling through what your peers are publishing, sit down and write. Start that new piece, polish the one you’ve been avoiding, or just write for the sake of writing. Write without the mental editor, the audience you’ve invented, and most importantly, without the “other writers” lurking in your head.

In the end, the writers who resonate most aren’t the ones who chase trends, who study what “works” for others and try to replicate it. They’re the ones who commit to the process, who show up on the page and let their own unique voice develop. So stop comparing. Write unapologetically. Write like no one’s watching—because that’s the only way anyone will hear you.