What is the biggest cause of a plateau in writing growth?

ueonts 2023-07-21 03:36:30 UTC #1

`curious as to what the biggest thing holding someone back from this all is?

Kuma 2023-07-21 03:45:34 UTC #2

Complacency.

The moment you think you're too good, or that you can't learn anymore, is the moment you die as a writer or any type of artist.

darthmongoose 2023-07-21 06:07:05 UTC #3

Yeah, as Kuma said, it's the belief that you're already as good as you need to be, and that you don't need to change, study or grow. People like that tend to blame the people who aren't reading their work, say that they just don't understand, or "they're not smart enough to enjoy my work" or something, and then they plateau and get stuck, because you can't change other people.
Good writers see that people aren't engaging with their work, and look for what they can do about it.

the_puRple_hoRizon 2023-07-21 07:28:02 UTC #4

When good pieces fail to get recognition when it's needed... Many amazing works are left in middle or get popularity after the Author is far past the story in imagination and reality both.... And you see trivial writeups reach not so deserving soaring high fanbase just because their promotion strategy is way ahead the league. I don't mean to criticize anyone the new/ or not so well authors/ writers need to be supported since they may produce remarkable things later on but the right criticism needs to be given in time (not hate but healthy and constructive criticism!!).
Well keep the hustle going and keep striving guys! 🦋

kalmia 2023-07-21 07:47:34 UTC #5

I agree with everything that's been said so far, but I also would have to say that fear is also a reason for stagnant growth. If you're too afraid to try new things and to go out of your comfort zone as a writer, then you'll never grow or get better. Being afraid that the readers might not like something, or that your idea wont turn out as good on paper, or that whatever you do will suck, only hinders you. It's normal to be worried about writing and whether or not something will turn out okay, but if that keeps you from experimenting and trying out things then you're just going to be stuck at the same level you're already at.

midnightsun 2023-07-21 08:00:25 UTC #6

Reading is so important for growing as a writer. I think when writers focus so much time on practicing their own writing that they forget to spend any time reading works by other authors their writing can begin to stagnate. There are so many amazing stories, authors, and writing styles out there to study and take inspiration from so reading can sometimes be just as helpful as doing your own writing.

ueonts 2023-07-22 02:16:07 UTC #7

I feel this, I always fear wasting time. But I do know that if I spend too long on something I end up overthinking so there is a balance to be had.

TheLemmaLlama 2023-07-22 08:25:41 UTC #8

I think 'death' is kind of an overdramatic way to put it :'D A skill plateau is not the end of your creative career; if you actually are good enough to consistently draw in an audience (as demonstrated by the existence of actual readers in actual reality you can point to, ofc ), I see nothing wrong with just resting on your laurels if your goal is to just reach people rather than 'being the best creator you could be' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (And besides, you can always change your mind and resume your learning whenever you want :P)

I wouldn't say this is the biggest cause, but I do see people that set too quick of an output pace for themselves for updating their comic, and they seem to just not improve very much over time. I suspect this is because they're not giving themselves enough breathing room to lean and try new things; they have to settle for 'good enough' in order to meet their schedule.

Maybe this applies for writing as well? My sample size for novels is considerably smaller because I tend to not read many, and also because it takes way longer to judge writing skills than art skills :'D But the logic seems generalizable, at least XD