Do It Anyway!: Battling Imposter Syndrome as a Writer

Today’s post comes to us courtesy of guest writer and Creativity and Business Coach LA Bourgeois:

When I filled out my applications for college, I wrote an essay about where I saw myself in ten years. The picture that arose was of a confident woman walking through a forest. Every glance, every sound, every touch carried inspiration into my bones. Looking at my watch, I'd realize the time and run to make my meeting with my publisher, cape streaming from my shoulders. The fabric would swirl around me as I entered the room. My jaunty beret would join the cape on a coat rack as the praise for my words fell into my ears, and I would smile humbly.

Thirty-three years after writing that short essay, that picture still sticks with me. And, after spending decades writing, being paid for multiple articles and having “writer” as part of my job description, I still wonder if I'm a real writer. Blog post after article after book says “You are a writer if you spend any time writing,” and still....

We feel like we're lying. We haven't reached our goal yet, that impossible place where we'll magically be writers. That's the horrible trick of imposter syndrome.

We say, “I'll be a writer when I sit down and write every day.”

Then, we do it. We find the will and the dedication to write every single day. 

No trumpets. No fanfare. Just early mornings or late nights and hours and hours of work.

Is this really it?

So, we say “I'll be a writer when I get paid to write.”

Then we have an assignment from our boss to write the company newsletter or product descriptions or a grant. We do this, get paid for that work, and then....

Well, that must not be it, we say to ourselves. I'll be a professional writer when I get paid to write by a magazine.

So we go to the effort of being paid to write by a magazine, a website, an online publication. Same thing happens.

So, we talk about how we'll be paid regularly to write or that we'll write our novel or that we'll publish our novel. And THEN we'll really by writers.

The problem is that we keep moving the bar. It's all part of imposter syndrome. If we allow ourselves to actually reach the bar, then what will we do? Admit to ourselves that we are writers? Say it ain't so!

And the truth is, if you write, if you regularly put words on paper and work at your craft, you are a writer.

So here's a thought. Instead of letting your imposter syndrome take the wheel, why not just say you're a writer?

Frankly, this is one of those “chicken or egg,” “fake it til you make it” moments. You can’t be what you want to be until you declare it to yourself.

Unfortunately, imposter syndrome will be right there, screaming in your face that you aren’t good enough, that you don’t have the talent, that you must not really want it or you would have achieved that goal a long time ago, that you are a LIAR!

Your most effective weapon is to do the work to make your declaration true.

Begin. Know it doesn’t matter when you begin. Know it only matters that you begin.

Take action. All you need to do to be anything you want is to do the work. Allow every action to reinforce your declared profession.

Create a habit that places you in the right space to do the work. Show up for your muse. Show up for yourself. Show that imposter syndrome screaming “You are a liar!” every time you say “I’m a fill-in-the-blank” that you are willing to do everything you can to make that phrase true.

And then, in that space you’ve made to work, do the work! Learn, practice, think deeply, solve problems, imagine, create! Type the words, write the plot, form the characters, draw the maps. 

Remove every barrier that keeps you from doing that work. If the only time you have to do the work is early in the morning when you usually pack your lunch, pack lunch the night before. Work in the evening but regularly end up folding the laundry instead? Ask your partner or children to help. Set up your desk so it’s ready to go. Make sure the computer is updated, extra supplies available, the pen works.

Here’s a confidence-building tip: We all have wings. Each feather in those wings is a skill, a talent, or a quality that moves us forward. Look at those tools and see that you have what you need. Leap off the cliff, flapping those wings as hard as you can. Learn to fly like any other fledgling. Feel where your wings hold you up and how relaxing into the air currents can carry you farther than any furious flapping. Feel the confidence that grows from experiencing your feathers holding you in the air.

And, when the imposter syndrome sneaks up on you and whispers “No! You can’t possibly be that fabulous artist you want to be,” let your Inner Brat out of her cage to scream back, “SO WHAT? I’M DOING IT ANYWAY!”

You are a writer.

You’re doing the work.

LA (as in tra-la-la) Bourgeois supports writers, makers, and other creatives to find their meaning and use their creativity to manifest it in the world. And, if they want to turn their creative work into a business, her twenty-five+ years of entrepreneurial experience answers their questions. Writing and knitting are her nonnegotiable mediums, and she can usually be found with a pen or knitting needles in her hands. Find her free guide, “Tricking Yourself into a Creative Habit” online at labourgeois.biz and start writing those words today. She can’t wait to read them!