Imposter Syndrome. Do You Have It?

Have you ever been sitting down working on your novel when out of nowhere your excitement, drive, and passion start to fade away and this overwhelming feeling of self-doubt starts to overtake you? 

Do you feel that your writing will never have the recognition of other authors whose books line your shelves or that you should just keep your writing to yourself because who are you kidding nobody will ever want to read it?

You may have imposter syndrome.

What is Imposter Syndrome?

Imposter syndrome is when you as a writer feel as if you are playing at being a writer while others are more serious and deserving of their craft.

Those with imposter syndrome may:

• Believe they were somehow accepted into the band by sheer luck alone not actual skill.
• Have the tendency to self-sabotage their work by setting unrealistic goals for writing/publishing.
• Let self-doubt, fear, and perfectionism overtake their rational thoughts. 
• Believe that they are just a person with a background in such and such. What made them believe they could be a writer like that random person who went to college to be a writer?

Imposter syndrome makes you feel like nothing you write will ever be good enough or that if it's not perfect, it's not worth doing or showing to anybody. 

Imposter syndrome is one of the major things that holds back new writers and experienced writers alike. I've been a full time writer for years and every once in a while I stop writing mid-thought and think that I'm not deserving of the readers that I have or the followers I've gained simply because they must have been following me by accident or they somehow believe me to be better than I actually am.

How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome!

The most important thing to keep in mind is that almost every writer on the planet will at one point experience the symptoms of imposter syndrome. 

Writing is not easy and no matter your level of success, you deserve to feel accomplished every single day that you sit down and put your imagination, creativity, and soul down in print for the world to see. 

Imposter syndrome is that little voice in the back of your head that's being a d*ck head like a school bully at lunch. You need to tell it to shut its mouth and remember you are good enough to sit with the cool kids.

Here are some way to stop the feelings that imposter syndrome bring you

• Stop being a perfectionist. Perfect doesn't exist and your readers aren't looking for it so neither should you.
• Celebrate every success. Even the little ones. Did you finish a chapter? CELEBRATE! Did you think of a new story idea? CELEBRATE! We are more than our failures so keep the successes fresh in your mind whenever you feel that the bad is outweighing the good. 
• Text a writing buddy or family and friends. I have a group chat with a few writer friends and every once in a while someone will send the message, "I've got the writer icks. Help me before I delete my whole book." And the group will swoop down on them with praise, understanding, and a kick in the rear to get them into a better headspace.

Don't let imposter syndrome win!

Our brains are a wonderful thing that can think of fantastic things some people can't even dream of creating. We weave whole worlds and lives into existence with nothing but our thoughts, hearts, and souls, nobody is allowed to make you feel like you're not good enough. Not even your own brain.

When the feeling hits try to shake it off, take a break if you need to, but no matter what make sure you get back to writing as soon as you can.

Push through.

Keep writing and when you're done…

Write some more.

Best of luck.

With love, 

B.K.

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