Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.
What makes someone a “writer”? Do you sometimes feel like a fake and are just waiting for people to notice? J.F. Gibson has a great piece about dealing with imposter syndrome as a writer. Check it out! You will feel better!
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The Aspiring Writer: Impostor Syndrome
Impostor syndrome isn’t a new concept, it’s something most people will encounter during their life. For a writer, impostor syndrome manifests itself in our psyche, laying a veil of self-doubt over our thoughts and actions. We continually feel our writing is inadequate and rubbish, and that nothing we write will be good enough. Ever.
In severe cases, impostor syndrome will cause writer’s block that will make you cry with frustration, causing your creativity to disappear when you need it most. In the worst of cases, some writers even stop writing.
So how do you deal with impostor syndrome? How do you get past the feelings of feeling like a fraud and a phony who will be soon found out, embarrassed and publicly shamed?
Call yourself a writer, and believe it
The first hurdle is actually believing you are worthy of calling yourself a writer. The impostor syndrome loves this stage, citing phrases in the back of our minds such as:
‘You have the audacity and arrogance to call yourself a ‘writer’?’
‘What have you ever achieved to warrant the title ‘writer’?
The truth is, it’s pretty simple: if you write, you are a writer. Are you a successful writer? Are you a published writer? Well, maybe not yet, but you are still, by definition a writer. So own it.