Writing is no place for being sure!
The first thing writers want is to look good. When someone reads their writing, they want the reader to think about how smart and professional the writer is. That is why they won’t let go of a piece until they are absolutely sure it is the best!
They’re just readers! It’s not like they’re coming to ask for your hand in marriage! They’re just going to read your piece, sit around in cafes drinking coffee, and crap all over you. While a few others defend you.
This is exactly what causes many writers to never publish any work. One day they tell themselves, “No, I am not a writer,” and give up. Or they get excessively involved with every piece they write, editing and rewriting it so much that they deviate from the work’s main goal and completely ruin it.
All of this stems from the fact that writers want to look good. They want to make sure they have written their absolute best fiction or non-fiction before publishing it.
I was exactly the same, until I had an idea: Mathematics!
I love mathematics just because when you solve the equation $x^2-4=0$ and reach the number 2 for $x$, you can be absolutely sure that this is the exact answer.
So, I redirected that writer-part of me toward mathematics. I study and solve math for five hours a week, which satisfies my need for certainty. Then, I come back and screw up on paper with absolute peace of mind. It is truly enjoyable.
Do you know who else is like this? Children.
I still cannot believe why adults teach children and not the other way around. A child who starts building a house with Legos does not think, “What if the house isn’t as beautiful as the Palace of Versailles? What if its architecture isn’t as unique as Zaha Hadid’s work?”
They just pick up the Legos and build, build, and build. Then, one day you check on them and see what an incredible house they have built. You think your child is a genius and decide to enroll them in a thousand different classes so their talent is not wasted. No, that child is not a genius (please, get off their backs and let them live their normal lives). They just know how to live. In life, a person shouldn’t be afraid of screwing things up. In fact, they should be happy if something gets ruined, because they know which way is the wrong way for next time.
Leave certainty to mathematics! Life is no place for being sure!