This is probably dubious advice but it works for me: it really helps if you can figure out your writing strengths and then work out a way for them to carry the rest of the book. This is way more intuitive and less soul-destroying than focusing on fixing your weaknesses.

I think this is especially hard when you enjoy a style or genre that& #39;s far outside your wheelhouse.

Like, sometimes I& #39;ll read a book with high stakes, complicated worldbuildling, and an intricate plot. And what I& #39;m writing feels really small and constrained in comparison!

But if I focused on putting complicated worldbuilding, intricate plot, and high stakes (all things that I love!) in my books, my books would be an unreadable mess because those are.....really not my strengths. And writing would be a joyless slog.

I said almost exactly this (my books feel insignificant compared to [redacted]) to @MargretheMartin a few months ago when I was having a good sulk and she pointed out that [redacted] does not have the things that are good about my books, and then I preened, and all was well.