What to Do When You’re Suffering From a Case of Bad Writing
So, let’s just be honest for a second. There’s nothing worse than having a brilliant idea in your head—something clever, something unique, something that you know could sparkle on the page—only to sit down, put fingers to keyboard, and watch it come out looking like hot garbage. We’ve all been there. You might call it clunky, messy, awkward, or the dreaded label we writers like to whisper to ourselves in the dark: bad writing.
But here’s the thing: having that moment where you hate what you put on the page is not proof that you’re a bad writer. It’s proof that you’re a human being with taste, imagination, and ambition. The anguish you’re feeling? It’s actually a sign that you care deeply about the words you put out into the world. Let’s dig into why this happens and, more importantly, how you can climb out of that hole when you feel like your writing is crap.
You’re Not Alone
First things first—you’re not the only one. Every single writer you’ve ever admired has wrestled with this problem. Yes, even the ones with bestselling books and literary awards. They too have stared at their drafts and thought, “This is bad writing. What was I thinking?”
The difference between them and the people who give up? They didn’t stop. They wrote through the mess. They revised. They showed up again and again until the draft on the page started to match the brilliance in their head.
The frustration you feel is the gap between your vision and your current execution. And while that gap can feel crushing, it’s also where growth happens.
Stop Expecting Perfection on Draft One
Here’s a truth that most of us secretly hate: your first draft is supposed to be rough. It’s not supposed to look like the book on your nightstand or the article you just bookmarked. Draft one is more like a sketch than a masterpiece. When 
you sit down to write, you’re spilling clay onto the wheel. You can’t sculpt anything until the clay is there. If you can sit down and crank you a first draft that is ready to be published, you are not a writer, you are a god!
But what do most of us do instead? We start writing, realize the sentences aren’t living up to the style idea in our heads, and then spiral. We call it bad writing, convince ourselves we’re talentless, and sometimes even stop before the draft is finished. The truth is, you need the messy clay first. Then you shape it. Then you polish it. If you skip the mess, you never get to the art.
Let’s Talk About Anguish
That sinking feeling when you read your words back and they just don’t sound right? That’s anguish. It’s the same feeling as putting on an outfit you thought would look amazing, only to catch yourself in the mirror and think, “Who let 
me leave the house like this?”
But anguish has a purpose. It’s telling you that you know what good writing sounds like. You have the taste to recognize the gap. That’s a strength. If you couldn’t tell the difference, you wouldn’t even know your writing needs work.
So instead of letting the anguish drag you down, use it as fuel. Say to yourself, “Okay, this draft looks like bad writing right now, but that’s only because I know it can be better.”
Capture the Vibe First, Clean It Later
One of the best tricks I use when I feel like my ideas are evaporating as soon as I try to put them down is to stop caring about polish in the moment. If I’ve got a style idea—like a witty voice, or a lyrical rhythm—I stop obsessing over sentences and instead focus on capturing the vibe.
- Freewrite for 10 minutes without stopping.
- Talk into a voice recorder and let the words tumble out.
- Jot down fragments of phrases or images that feel right.
Later, I can string them together and smooth them out. But if I try to edit while I’m writing, the critic in my brain screams “bad writing” before I’ve even given the draft a chance to live.
Read People Who Nail the Style You Want
Another way to calm that anguish is to remind yourself what the style you admire actually looks and feels like. Want to write lyrical? Read some Ocean Vuong. Want to write punchy and sharp? Grab Roxane Gay or Elmore Leonard.
By immersing yourself in writers who nail the kind of voice you’re reaching for, you train your ear. And when you sit down to write, it’s like your brain has new rhythm tracks to follow. You’ll still hit bumps, but it’ll feel less like you’re wandering in the dark and you’ll feel less like a victim of bad writing.
One great practice is copywork—literally writing out passages from authors you admire to absorb their rhythms. It sounds old school, but it works. Learn more here: What Is Copywork in Writing.
Talk to Yourself Like You’d Talk to a Friend
When was the last time you called your best friend’s work “crap” to their face? Exactly. You wouldn’t do that. You’d encourage them. You’d say, “It’s a draft. You’re still figuring it out. Give yourself some grace.”
So why do we say things like “I’m a terrible writer” to ourselves? Part of getting past the bad writing spiral is learning to replace self-insults with self-compassion. Next time you catch yourself muttering, “This is crap, this is such bad writing,” reframe it: “This is just the rough version. The polished version is coming.”
Build a Style Toolbox
Sometimes the reason you feel like your writing is bad isn’t because it’s awful, but because it’s incomplete. Style isn’t 
one big skill—it’s a bunch of small tools you can practice individually. Try experimenting with:
- Sentence length: mix short bursts with longer, flowing ones.
- Word choice: swap out bland verbs for vivid ones.
- Structure: play with repetition, parallelism, or varied pacing.
If you want help thinking through how your style connects to your larger identity as a writer, check out my Author Platform Starter Checklist. Building your platform and your style go hand in hand.
Get Feedback (From the Right People)
Sometimes you can’t see your own progress because you’re too close to it. What feels like bad writing to you may actually read pretty well to someone else. The trick is choosing the right readers—people who will be honest but encouraging. Not the ones who say “it’s fine” just to be nice, but also not the ones who act like writing is a gladiator sport.
Feedback can show you that your draft actually has strong bones. Or it can highlight one specific area to fix instead of making you feel like the whole thing is doomed.
Remember: Bad Writing Is the Path to Good Writing
Here’s the secret nobody tells you when you’re drowning in self-doubt: every piece of good writing started out as bad writing. That book you love? Somewhere in a drawer is a first draft the author cringes to look at. That viral blog post? It probably started out as a rambly brain dump.
Writing isn’t about skipping the bad parts. It’s about showing up, writing through them, and trusting that you can revise into something better.
If you need encouragement, I recommend this short video where Ira Glass talks about the creative gap and why it feels so painful: Ira Glass on the Taste Gap. It’s a reminder that the anguish you feel is actually part of the process, not a sign that you should quit.
And if you want a deeper dive into why writing the “bad words” matters, this article nails it: Why You Have to Write the Bad Words Before You Can Write the Good Ones.
Keep Showing Up
At the end of the day, the only way through the “my writing is crap” feeling is to keep writing. Every draft is a stepping stone. Every awkward sentence is compost that feeds the next attempt.
When you feel stuck, go back to your idea. Remind yourself why it excited you in the first place. Freewrite. Read someone who inspires you. Or grab a resource like my Self-Publishing Checklist if you need motivation to keep pushing forward. Whatever you do, don’t stop.
Because your idea deserves to live on the page. And even if today’s draft feels rough, tomorrow’s revision can be the one that finally captures the magic you saw in your head.
Final Thought
You are not your draft. You are not your typos. You are not the gap between your idea and your execution. You are a writer who sometimes writes bad writing on the way to great writing. And that’s not failure, it’s the process.
The most important thing you can do is get your words on the paper, or the computer screen. Don’t worry if you’re writing is good, or you have bad writing. The important thing is the writing, not the quality. Not right now. So next time you’re staring at a page and thinking, “Wow, this is crap,” take a deep breath. Smile at the mess. And keep going. Because bad writing is just the beginning.
Helpful Links & Resources
- Internal: Author Platform Starter Checklist (PDF)
- Internal: Self-Publishing Checklist (PDF)
- External: What Is Copywork in Writing
- External: Ira Glass on the Taste Gap (Video)
- External: Why You Have to Write the Bad Words Before You Can Write the Good Ones
