Self-image is important for most people. Writers, being denizens of the mind, sometimes like to think we are above that. But what’s true of everybody else, is just the same with us.

Part of gaining the confidence necessary for writing is feeling like you are a writer. That can involve giving yourself pep talks, making business cards, or simply telling people you are a writer.

This helps because then you can imagine all those hours at your keyboard are not wasted. No, they are work. Because your occupation is writer.

Graham Moore (The Sherlockian, The Imitation Game) tried to trick himself this way when starting out:

When I first starting writing, and no one was paying me, in order to feel like I had a real job, I would get out of bed, put on a jacket and tie every morning and sit down at my desk … Before [writing] was actually my profession, I think I knew I had to treat it like a profession if I wanted to accomplish anything…

Act like writing is your job and one day it might be.