on Well-Storied:

Creative comparison often gets a bad rap. Like self-doubt, comparison can be a lens through which writers can identify the strengths and weaknesses in their work, ultimately helping them improve the quality of their skills and stories with intention.

But without the right attitude in place, ego and insecurity can blind writers to the insights that comparison can provide, warping constructive comparison into a dangerously destructive act.

In this situation, the fears and self-limiting beliefs that comparison can trigger lead to damaging behaviors that further weaken a writer’s fragile self-image. If you’ve ever avoided the blank page because you feel like you’ll never measure up, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Fortunately, it’s within every writer’s power to quit the dangerous creative comparison game.