Self-Improvement: Raising The Standard · 7:30am Aug 3rd, 2014
"I'm the best writer here."
That statement up there... it's a pretty bold and selfish statement. But, it's absolutely imperative that everyone who wishes to be a good writer believes that exact statement about themselves.
Why?
If you do not believe in yourself and your abilities, no one else will.
I'm going to briefly discuss some areas that we all need to improve on from time to time to not only become good authors, but stay good authors and rise above the norm. These areas are:
1. Avoiding Stagnancy
2. Being Your Own Biggest Fan AND Your Own Worst Critic
3. Ask For Help And Ye Shall Receive
AVOIDING STAGNANCY
"Stagnation is only a manifestation of the lack of motivation or effort towards change." - from 'Flourishing, Not Just Existing' by Caleb Fairey
Tell me if the either of the following scenarios seem remotely familiar to you:
Scenario #1 -You've found your niche. You have stories you like to write, your audience eats them up, and you've got your editing team and followers to handle any cosmetic or promotional issues you may run across. You have a method to your writing, and you stay in within that safety zone.
Scenario #2 -You want to write more. Heck, you just want to write period, but the challenge of it seems to much, so you stay within a comfort zone of being unknown. Maybe you've got a few stories under your belt that got moderate reviews, and now you think you've reached your limit and you might as well stop.
Before I continue, let me say this: There is nothing wrong with being in a position as described above. If you're happy staying the same or keeping within your standard zone, more power to you.
However, there's a large number of us (I say us because I'm guilty of being in a selfish rut) who find ourselves in a stagnant prison, staying the same, never improving, and holding on to the same amount of popularity and talent that we've had for awhile. Sure, it's comfortable to have a set style. It's nice to have a solid fanbase. But, do you want it to grow? Do you want to become a better, more talented author? Do you want to be able to write more stories that can reach a broader audience?
I do.
I was, for the lack of a better word, forced into a realisation the other day by my editor. Here's a piece of what he said about my newest chapter:
Note: names will not be given. Don't ask.
I found myself not only bored, but frustrated (if you couldn't tell) while reading this.
Honestly, if (emphasis on IF) this is consistently going to be the quality of writing you're going to send me, then... well, I'm not sure if I want to edit for you anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love you and all, but...
At this point, it feels kinda like you're writing a chapter and sending it to me immediately after you finish it—before even proofreading it yourself. It's as if I'm just another tool to make your story "prettier" instead of a real, living human being who's here to help you learn and improve as a writer.
My job—or the job of any proofreader/editor/pre-reader—is to become superfluous. Hypothetically, if you're reading and learning from what I tell you, then eventually I won't have any errors to point out... simply because you've fixed them all yourself.
Sadly, that is not the case now.
For those of you who didn't quite catch the gist here, he's angry at me. Why? Because I'm stagnant. I've found my method, and I stuck to it. Instead of really paying attention to errors and trying to improve, I would just send it to my editors and have them clean it up. Granted, I have learned a lot, but not enough effort was put into applying it.
I look forward to the day where I can write my stories and edit them myself, without having to resort to a third party. But, to get there, I can't be stagnant. I have to learn, I have to grow, and I have to put effort into trying new and/or uncomfortable things.
It's trial and error, but the payoff is huge.
So, what's the point of this section?
Consistently learn, listen and grow. Don't resign yourself to the medium difficulty level so-to-speak, but try jumping up to Expert and doing what you can to learn new things, and look for opportunities to become better.
BEING YOUR OWN BIGGEST FAN... AND YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY
Here's a little tip that sums up this entire subheading nicely:
When writing your draft, think of it as the best story ever to grace mankind with it's presence. When your editing it, think of it as a putrid piece of trash that must be cleansed of impurities before release into the poor, unsuspecting public.
What do I mean? Well, here's the gist for you aspiring pony authors:
When you're writing your story, think of yourself as an amazing author, writing the best story ever. Don't even think about fixing mistakes, or editing. Don't second-guess anything; you are the best author in the world and none can match your skill.
When you're editing your story, you look at that draft as an unappetizing piece of raw steak someone saw fit to put on your dinner plate. You need to clean, season and cook this steak before it can be considered worthy of being consumed.
Why is this important?
Well, as far as writing goes, if you concern yourself with editing and your lack of skill during the process, you'll never get anything done. I imagine at least... a lot of you have a bunch of GDoc drafts sitting at a few hundred words that haven't been touched in months simply because you can't get part of it right.
Then, when it comes to editing, you need to constantly train yourself to spot more and more imperfections, and learn to correct them. It's not enough to just let someone else cook your steak for you, you've gotta learn the trade if you want your own restaurant. You've got to continually set the bar higher and higher, and continue to improve more and more.
So, in effect, if you want to succeed, you need to constantly be your biggest fan, and your harshest critic.
ASK FOR HELP, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE
Long story short... no one is perfect. You will make mistakes, you will find your confidence doubted, and you will need help. So what do you do in a situation like this?
Ask for help.
I do it, my editors do it, multi-million dollar writers ask for help. No shame in that. In fact, you can't grow even remotely without getting help from time to time. Whether it's from another skilled writer, a self-help book, or maybe even just by reading successful stories. Without help, we'd all fail and be stuck in a nasty rut, doomed to never improve.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As per the usual, it's the middle of the night, and I'm super tired, so I'll stop here and probably post some more self-help blogs in the future. Like... next week probably.
Remember, the idea here is never doubt yourself, continually raise the bar to higher levels, don't be complacent with where you're at, and strive to be more awesome.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to comment or PM me. I'll most likely answer, eventually.
Keep it real, people! 
You know some people with a fan base gives there fands a name. Pewdiepie calls his the bro army. Pete from just turn on the camera calls them slacjers. If O ever get one I'll call them the people.
This is Jayden7777 by the way.
2339521 I suppose if I ever get a fan group made, I'll officially give them a name.
Too bad I can't figure out any creative names off the top of my head. 
2339523 I was gonna say, I don't remember having a Pancake related follower.
Thank you for the odd spurt of out of place advice, Joel Olsteen.
Not that it's unwelcome, just... unexpected.
2339524 lol. Well The People name was rather easy actually, I mean they are people who follow me.so I'm sure you can find a name.
2339530 I've been posting help blogs for the past month or so. Usually one every two weeks or so.
2339535 Ah, carry on!
This is all true. 100%
I myself have already gone through what you came to realise recently. In the beginning, I was good. Not, great, not exceptional, not mediocre, but just good. I wrote my first fic thinking it was awesome ( the feedback certainly told me so, considering it didn't get a dislike for three months)... But then a great and powerful editor named andygrey got a hold of it, and.. well, the rest is history.
I am who I am today because I asked for help, never doubted myself, and changed up my writing a tonne, jumping from OCs, to phoenixes, to random terribad grammar, AU episodic-type stories, birthday presents, innuendo-based comedy...
I am not stagnant, nor will I ever be, because I believe in and actively practice all that you have said in this post. As for your unnamed editor's note... They're right. Editors are not just people to fix your crap. They're there to teach you how to eventually not need them anymore, to make you an objectively better writer. I myself also practice and preach that mentality when I edit: "comma before direct address, comma before direct address,
FUCKING COMMA BEFORE DIRECT ADDRESS YOU ILLITERATE ARSEHOLEcomma before direct address."You'll go far, Dustin. I'm confident that you will one day join me in the hallowed halls of EQD and TRG.
And you know what?
I AM a damn good writer. I have learned and retained a metric tonne of information and techniques. My grammar eyes are keen as a hawk.
Keep up the positive vibes, mang.
, Adren.
Eeyup. All of it is true. You must not stay to one type, be your biggest fan yet your harshest critique, ask for help. All of it
I edit all my own stuff. I make sure it's close to perfect before I release it into the world.
I used to bounce ideas off someone else on the site, but she hasn't been around in a while. I think The Writer's Group and Rage Reviews have really given me some things to think about, plus just reading a lot on the site.
I'm having trouble with Princess Trixie and Her Magic Dragon, but part of it is--I just DO NOT WANT another long-runner to baby-sit. Even within writing mostly for the same characters, I try hard to stretch myself, so that it's not always quite the same genre or style. I've used Flash Sentry. I try to take a few risks. And that's what keeps things fun.
I want this to be a hobby, not a job. Otherwise it would be too much like my day job, and I'd probably quit. But if I'm going to do something, I might as well do it well. I want to top myself. I want everything to be better than the one I just did.
This is why I have slowed down, but I think it's for the better.
That was a ramble and a long way of saying, "yes."
I agree with all of this.
You are such a kind person.
2339855 Meh, I wish. I love helping people, I just suck at showing it.
2339866
... People notice. 
2339870 you see, you're the kind one here. That's why everyone loves you.
2339872 Says the one with 436 followers.
2339874 Well yeah, but that's because I write stuf. You get followers just for being cute and awesome and nice. I'm so jealous
2339876 In other words, I don't deserve them.
2339905 in other words, you're awesome and nice
That's why I followed you.
I absolutely hate asking for help, so there's one of my problems.
I found a lot of this helpful to me. Thanks for taking the time to write this up!
Yeah. I swear, every story I type my fingers off? I'ts a competition between you and yourself
Can I settle for 'one of the best'?
I like to think I can write quality stories without being an egomaniac.
(And if I was the best writer, whose stories would I read?)
Then again, I never have been very competitive.
Of course, my whole purpose here is to learn and grow (with the goal of becoming a professional novelist), so I'm always trying to challenge myself anyway.
2342188 Actually, from what I've seen, there are a lot of people who do think you're the best writer on here.
But yes, practice and improvement are vital.
2340038 Fuck my life.
I Love you, Famous. 
*Cuddles*
2342343 Love ya too
*snuggles*
2342550 Happy Birthday, by the way!
*Gives birthday blowjob*
2343330 lol, just tad early. My b-day is2 months away
2343361 Oops...
2343433 lol, its okay. October. 6th is the official day
2343441 Got it. That's loads of time...
Words to live by, certainly. Been struggling with confidence issues for a while now, but oddly enough not that much trouble writing. Still, will try the paradigm shifts sometime. Also, I've never had an editor; I do it the hard way.
You know you can get Elements of Style for free, right? Kind of a baseline for grammar and such?
2364860 Elements of Style. I've never even heard of it
2364872
Back when I was first starting out, this snooty English major told me to read that book because it was the standard for English grammar. It did kind of help in some areas. Here it is:
Elements of Style
But on that note, I prefer to take a cue from Blender Guru: do one thing at a time. If you're bad at exposition, or you just end up doing it a lot, write a story that's nearly all exposition and force yourself to get that down as perfectly as you can. Everything else is subject to just the standard level of scrutiny. While you're focused on just that one thing, it can help you realise how or why certain rules work. And it helps make it so you catch errors with the standard level next time. But that's just what's worked for me, not a professional opinion.
Swag