The Writer’s Way
When Imposter Syndrome Comes Knocking
Dealing with feelings of inadequacy as a writer & what helps me
Oh, hello Imposter Syndrome! I see you have decided to pay me a visit again — even though I swear I never invited you here in the first place. What’s that? What do you mean this time you’d like to stay for a while!? I have no room for you. Don’t you know I have a life!?
I can almost hear it say, No, actually, you don’t.
I know this rollercoaster ride all too well. *Sighs* Here we go again.
In the early stages of exploring my creative side, things were blissful. I was truly incompetent — but of course, I didn’t realize it — which was a good thing, or else I would have quit long ago. What I did have, however, was passion in spades, and nothing would stop me from letting my creativity flow.
But then…something funny happened.
The longer I wrote, the more experience I got, the more I realized that I actually sucked. I would read back over my old drafts — chapters I used to love and think, “What the heck was I thinking!? How could I ever think this was good!? This is cringy!”
Conscious incompetence, they call it — meaning now you are aware of what you lack. The good news is, if you get to this stage of the journey, it’s actually a good sign — it means you are growing! You are learning.
Next comes conscious competence. It’s the phase of “Hey! I know how to do this and I’m not that bad at it anymore!” I believe I am currently at this stage.
Or…am I?
‘Good’ is subjective… isn’t it?
Imposter syndrome has me thinking perhaps I’m not. Perhaps I never will reach that stage.
One day, I go from loving life, creating simply for the joy of it, doing the thing for the sake of doing the thing — to suddenly wondering if I am good enough. Good enough for what? To follow my dreams?
“Who do you think you are?”
Imposter syndrome is like the voice of the devil — but It might sound like your voice. It will whisper things like, why do you even bother? Do you really think this is good? You suck. No one will like this. You’re not special. What’s the point?
Just. Give. Up.
Sometimes I feel like writers and imposter syndrome go together like some sort of perverted version of peanut butter and jelly. Many writers I know have dealt with this at least on some level, and many, like me, admit to having an ongoing battle, where imposter syndrome will even pop by and hunker down for an extended stay.
Admittedly, imposter syndrome seems to be a bit of a buzzword (buzz words plural? No one says that.) lately. But putting my personal experience aside for a moment, what exactly is imposter syndrome?
Imposter syndrome is a thinking pattern where people doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent, often internal fear of being exposed as a ‘fraud,’ despite outside evidence of their competence.
People who experience imposter syndrome feel they do not deserve the success they have achieved. They may believe they have only succeeded due to luck, timing, or deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent or capable than they actually are.
If you are suffering from imposter syndrome, you may deal with the following:
- Doubting yourself. Having continuous feelings of not measuring up and self-doubt, even in the face of obvious success.
- Blaming your success on external factors like luck, rather than your abilities.
- Fear of being found out as not being as competent as you appear to be.
- Working harder to make up for feelings of not measuring up, can lead to burnout.
- Discounting compliments or brushing off any positive feedback.
- Comparing yourself and your achievements to the works of others.
Oh, the comparison trap! There it is again. Nice try, buddy, but I’ve already dealt with you!
“I should be further in life.”
Living in a world that makes us feel like we missed the mark
medium.com
I must be ever vigilant.
In my experience, imposter syndrome comes in waves. And if I am being honest, it seems to happen more so when I am tired, whether physically, mentally or emotionally.
A fun little bit of information: It turns out imposter syndrome is common in high-achievers. Can you relate to this? Because I sure can. If you know anything about the enneagram personalities (and if you do not that’s okay!) I’m a 4w3 with a strong achiever wing!
So if you are like me and sometimes find yourself struggling with feelings of not being a ‘real writer,’ or a ‘good enough’ one, what can you do to help combat these things?
Realize that imposter syndrome is common and acknowledge how you are currently feeling.
Talk it out. Share your feelings with people you can trust: friends, mentors, therapists, and other writers can give an outside perspective and offer support.
Change the lens through which you see things. Take the negative situation or thought and try to view it from a different perspective. Example: Maybe it’s not that I’m a bad writer because I made a typo. All writers make typos sometimes and I can learn from this. Perhaps I was in a rush. Now I know not to rush next time. This doesn’t mean people won’t appreciate what I have to say.
Focus on the facts. Keep a list of your accomplishments and positive feedback to remind yourself of your achievements and what you’re capable of.
Set realistic goals. Setting attainable goals will help prevent you from taking on too much (stressful) and help you to build up your confidence over time.
Do I do all these things I listed to perfection? Heck no! If I did, I suppose I would not be sitting here writing this article at eleven O’ clock at night. But you know what? Keeping these things in mind even some of the time helps. And realizing that I am not alone in these kinds of thoughts and feelings makes a huge difference. Some of my favorite authors experience imposter syndrome. Thinking about that blows me away. Even best-selling authors deal with this!
There is one thing I like to remember when it comes to the whole “you’re not a real writer” thing. I don’t recall who I heard say it — someone on TikTok I believe, but their words stayed with me:
You know what you have to do in order to be a real writer?
Write.
That’s it.
So I’m sorry imposter syndrome, but you cannot abide here. I have dreams to realize, and projects to finish, and these books won’t write themselves.
Thank you so much for making it this far and reading my entire article. I hope you enjoyed it! If you thought it was helpful, please share it with a friend.
