It can take time to find your own voice. Haruki Murakami (author of The Wild Sheep Chase, Kafka on the Beach, IQ84, etc.) didn’t start out to be a writer. He was a voracious reader growing up but an uninspired student. He didn’t want to join the corporate world in Japan, but loved jazz. So he opened a bar where he played jazz records. 

It wasn’t until he was at a baseball game years later that he suddenly thought he could write a novel. Except, the first attempt didn’t work. The text sounded like everyone else. So he translated the Japanese text into English, then back again into Japanese, developing a unique style that has since reached a worldwide audience. 

When you begin doing something, you’ll do what everyone else does. But to find long-term success, you’ll need to discover your own way of doing things.