The creator and his shadow self: How to deal with Impostor syndrome
Creators across varied discipline seem to agree that there exists an alter self of a sort which actively seeks to sabotage their art or at least cripple their creation or creativity.
Many writers have come to call this the impostor syndrome. Even the best of writers admit to a constant chatter of this shadow self but try to cage it or quieten its voice.
The shadow self seems to be fond of reminding you of your limitations and while this can be educative for a while it gets to the point of plain pessimism crippling your creativity with it, pushing you to self-destruct in an attempt to clear the chatter in your head.
Beginner writers panic in the face of a pitch, a competition or submission call and so do established writers but the difference lies in their ability to differentiate reality from the imagined with reality being what you decide it is. We have found that established and experienced writers use a series of steps to keep themselves in check.
- Always keep defining your goals, aspirations and dreams
There is no shame in having no desire to be a creator bagging awards and literary muscle. There is no shame in wanting the awards too. There is no manual or creators bible that says art must be selfless and not demand compensation. There is none either that tags you a fool for wanting readership and follower-ship over monetary compensation. We are in this for varied reasons, all beautiful in their own way.
- Acknowledge your area of expertise
You will never be so good at everything. Keep your eye on the best parts of you. Poet Lukpata Joseph used to tell me to stay on the lane. It is an invite to the shadow man when you begin to stress out about another’s art and how well it is doing. You write literary fiction and may dabble into hardcore crime or suspense but this truly will not bring you gain if you measure yourself to the standards of James Patterson or Blake Pierce
- Soak up more knowledge, go brush up your skill set
Fine-tune your skill-set. Read about and on the basics, study the masters of the past millennium and age. Soak up conversations, continuously question your mode of creation. Be the interrogator, do not wait for the alter self. We will never be totally so good as language keeps evolving and remains in the centre of that evolution.
- Affirm your creative stance. You have to believe in yourself
You have to believe in you. Take away the others power to make you feel useless and make your art look worthless. Find a circle of creatives that you can support and who can support you. Give yourself room to evolve.
“Look on your art always with a sense of awe.” Aremu Adebisi.
Find pleasure in the creation you brought forth, settle for its imperfection, never seek perfection. Bask in the knowledge that your sacred duty is to create and this is what you have done.
Stripes Literary Magazine publishes poetry, prose (fiction and non-fiction), art & photography. We are open for #submission. Visit our store to read all our past issue HERE
