I bet, at some point in our writing lives, we’ve all had someone say something like, “Really? A writer? You?” Even if said with good intentions, it can make us falter. We start to doubt. Are we really capable of becoming a writer? The answer is a resounding YES.
Why? Because, my friends, you took the first step to becoming a writer by simply doing the hard part: writing. Anyone who has the guts to put down on page or screen the words that want, need, to come out, has the courage to keep doing it.
I know this because I wrote fan fiction for years. Back in 1999 or so, I discovered Voltron fan fiction on the web, and around 2002, I finally got up the nerve to write my own and post it to a well-known fan fiction site. I got quite a few reviews; most of them were kind. I then started writing Gundam Wing stories, and found the readers there not so gentle. But I leaned. I took advice. I wrote better. And eventually, I started working on my own original work. Now, though I still get occasional requests for more fan fiction, I work solely on my original fiction.
We all get down about our writing. We have hard days when the words gum up and our characters stomp around upstairs and throw tantrums. But oh, remember a day when it all comes together? When you got that review that made you shout with excitement? That’s why we have to keep our nerve. We need to be brave.
We need to persevere, because we are writers, and no one can tell our stories but us.
A Scribe's Life 