Writing Health

Imposter Syndrome: What I Do When It Strikes

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According to Wikipedia (and many similar sources) imposter syndrome  (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”.

It happens in all walks of life and I’ve been hearing the term whispered within the writing community more frequently in the past few years. It actually wasn’t defined until 1978 by a couple of psychologists, so it’s a relatively new phenomena but one which can be crippling all the same.

It usually grips me in the middle of a project or when I’ve received nonconstructive criticism on a piece of writing (which to be fair doesn’t happen that often, but when it does happen it is really damaging). What it does remind me is to ensure I continue to be objective when reviewing other writers work, and that doesn’t mean saying everything is great if it isn’t. The key is in how the message is delivered not what the message is.

Anyway, here are some tactics I use to kick it in to touch when it strikes…

Reflect on more positive feedback – It’s too easy to concentrate on the negative stuff. I remind myself of all the good things  said about my writing, how constructive feedback changed it for the better and remind myself that many of these people don’t know me personally. They don’t have to be positive! It’s one of the reasons I don’t like the review system for authors and writers. It is so subjective. And sometimes writers can be the worst of all critics.

“It would be wrong to think that you’re always right and correct and perfect and brilliant. Self-doubt is the thing that drives you to try to improve yourself.”
—Helen Mirren

Remind myself I’m not alone – I know many writer friends go through this at some point in their writing career and probably as regularly as me! And I remind myself who I am writing for at the end of the day. Me. First and Foremost.

“I’m just Michelle Robinson, that little girl on the south side who went to public school’.”
—Michelle Obama

Stop comparing myself to others – instead celebrate their success and achievements as much as my own. Writing can be a lonely world and developing connections with other authors who understand how you are feeling, is critical. It’s taken me a long time to appreciate this.

“Never compare yourself to others. Only compare the person you are today to the person you were the day before.”
― Unknown Author

Keep writing – my first reaction is always just that, reactive! I tell myself, often aloud or to the animals, that I’m rubbish and I should stop wasting my time and give up. Often, talking things through with my husband helps put me back on the right track and I never feel like this for long. I just can’t not write, it’s in my soul. And once I do start writing, I’m lost back in the worlds I create with the characters I’d like to meet. No better place to be.

“I have written 11 books but each time I think ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’”
—Maya Angelou

Have you ever suffered from this crippling syndrome? If so, how did you manage it, let me know and if you are right now, then shout out so we can support you 🙂

 

Morning Pages: 5 Reasons I Write Them

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I’ve been doing ‘Morning Pages‘ ever since I first read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron back in 2015. This exercise entails three pages of long hand, free consciousness writing.

I don’t follow every bit of writing advice that’s put out there, nor do I generally give it. What I do is share what works for me. And this does. For the past four years. I’ve had the odd gap and paid for it with a severe case of the wobbles about me, about my writing, and castrophising (a term I’ve nicked from the indomitable Dawn French).

There is nothing to learn, but there is a habit to create. For me, first thing in the morning, in bed when my dreamy sleepy self is still not quite conscious. I just write whatever is on my mind. It’s not meant to be read, revisited, or used for any other purpose than de-cluttering.  Although sometimes I do write down something I need to remember because it’s crowding my head space.

So these are the five benefits I have garnered from doing this very exercise…

  1. Creating Head Space – writing down what first comes to mind helps to clear the cobwebs away. It’s like a regular bit of house keeping for the brain. The thoughts that trouble me, the dreams that scare me and the things that are troubling me just seep away onto the paper. The actual issues don’t go away but I’ve parked them.
  2. Problem Solving – it could be about a life issue, or more than likely sorting out something in a writing project that’s been troubling me. I can write it out, as it were, and as I do I come up with solutions. It’s a great feeling when that happens.
  3. Easily Achievable – 10 minutes it takes me. Simon knows that it’s the first thing I want to do, the animals, well they don’t quite understand but I refuse to let distractions get in the way. First thing before the day begins to control my activities and it’s done.
  4. Improves my Confidence and Self Esteem– not just in my writing life but in all sorts of area’s. I often ask myself ‘what is the worst case scenario’ if something is troubling me and often it’s insignificant and I can forget about it… until it raises it’s head again! When I slack off this exercise, like whilst we were away, my belief in myself dwindles fast, like water going down a drain.
  5. Increases Productivity – I always feel ready to get on with whatever I need to do, it allows me to allocate priorities, set goals for the day and get things done. I’m not saying I never have a day where there is stuff I didn’t get done, but I’ve usually done the important stuff, more often than not that means something to do with writing.

It’s the best bit of daily work out I do… pity it doesn’t help the waist line! 🙂

Pages clarify our yearnings. They keep an eye on our goals. They may provoke us, coax us, comfort us, even cajole us, as well as prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. If we are drifting, the pages will point that out. They will point the way True North. Each morning, as we face the page, we meet ourselves. The pages give us a place to vent and a place to dream. They are intended for no eyes but our own.

Julia Cameron