What do students do? They wait for a teacher (someone in a position of authority) to tell them what to do and grade them on their work. They constantly ask “how” to do something. They’re more interested in not failing than in trying something new.
Don’t get me wrong, I was a great student in my time. I LOVED knowing exactly what I needed to do to get an “A” on any given assignment in any class. And I rocked at it.
But the time for giving anyone else authority over what’s right for you and your writing is over. There are no assignments here. No one can tell you what’s right or wrong when it comes to doing your work (and the final result itself) except you.
Sure, readers can tear your story apart and tell you everything they hated about it, but writing is subjective.
You can’t escape negative reviews any more than you can control everything around you in the hopes of never suffering again. And trying will only lead to exhaustion and burnout.
So stop looking for the answer to “how” to be a writer and just try to write. Or try to write about what you want to write about. Or tell your stories aloud.
Writing doesn’t have to be any one thing. You just have to give yourself permission to fail at it and see what happens. There are no grades here.