Fancied something different to the usual seasonal stuff… I think this image is quite stunning don’t you?
Anyway all it leaves me to say is I hope you have a fun time, whatever you may be doing, where ever you are and who ever you are with (or not as the case maybe). I find this time of year the most difficult and so we’ve escaped to the Spanish coast in our van with Nellie and Scooby Doo… and will return when the whole affair is over.
Until later,
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.”
―
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 🙂
Last month I only had one goal:
😎Participate in National Write a Novel in a Month Challenge – and I clocked up over 56k words (yes, fifty six thousand words). My plan at the start was to write 2k a day for 6 days, having Sundays off – they are usually my PJ and off screen days – and I obviously wrote a little more than my target. The first half of the month I wrote longhand, with a pencil and notebook. A staved middle finger on my writing hand made that a little difficult as well as a pulled back muscle! I reverted to transcribing scenes and character development via the keyboard. I’m still working on transcribing and still have a lot of decisions to make, as things changed, as always, as the story fell out of my head.
How did you get on?
For the month of December I’m going to be realistic. We go away in our van on 15th December to spend the festive season and the New Year in Spain and I don’t plan on doing much, other than walking with the dogs, cycling and sight seeing. 🙂 So for the next two weeks my goals are:
Let me know what you’re planning to work on and what plans you have over the silly season – you may have guessed I don’t particularly enjoy this time of the year 🙄
No, not the sound of a siren but the sound of a pen scratching on paper. I’m participating in the annual writing challenge to write 50k words in one month. The challenge suggests that it’s quite possible to write a novel in a month, though that’s not strictly true. [Read more…] about NaNo…NaNo…NaNo
It’s that time of the month again…planning goals for the next four months ahead. November is an easy month, in terms of choosing my goals. But first, lets see how I got on last month *takes a deep breath*
😉 Sketch out two more Wolf Moon sequels – for development as NaNo project #1 – I decided early on in the month only to concentrate on one NaNo project. As usual, I set myself up to fail before I’ve begun. But I have given some thought to the sequel of Wolf Moon, made a third edit following a Beta Read and planning it’s publication.
😎 Revisit snowflake for Rainbow Chronicles – this will be my NaNo project and I’ve spent most of the month getting to know my characters, sketching out the world they occupy and having too many ideas!
😛 Schedule responses to #FantasyWiPOctober – the first time I’ve ever completed one of these Instagram challenges and I’ve met some wonderful people along the way, and increased my followers by 200!
So can you tell what my intended goals for this month are yet? There is just one.
✔ Participate in National Write A Novel in a Month Challenge – my umpteenth year and I don’t think I’ve ever been so prepared. So the idea is to write 50k – or more – within the month. I might also use the Flash NaNo Competition as a bit of inspiration but we’ll see.
Writing isn’t about the end product, not always anyway. If you’ve ever dream of writing but think you can’t do it… I say you can. Dare to dream big. All you need is a pen and paper or laptop, a sprinkling of inspiration and a bucketful of motivation and you’ll do it. I know, because I have. Follow your dreams.
And if you are taking part in NaNo and have registered on their site, let me know your username, or send me a buddy request – I’m ‘The Duchessa’. See you on the other side!
I don’t know about you, but my writing can be affected by the seasons, or any other distraction for that matter. Perhaps a large part of it is that my other ‘work’ is as flexible as my writing routine. That can be seen as a dream for some and I know I’m very fortunate but like everything, it can also have its downsides. A couple of weeks ago it looked as if Autumn had really arrived, talk of bonfires and dark evenings. However, for the past few days, the days have been warm, almost Indian summer-like with cold nights that have required us to light the wood burner.
Here are four things that I find useful in keeping my writing on track, whatever the season (or distraction, usually animal related) that may be. And given that NaNoWriMo starts in a couple of weeks, I think these are going to come in handy!
I’ve always set goals, every year for as long as I can remember. And for as long as I can remember, I’ve never reached the end of that year having achieved them. I’m too ambitious, too full of hope that this year will be the one and therefore I set myself up to fail. Following the example set by another writer with the same dilemma, I’ve been setting monthly goals now for the better part of this year. And they work, for whatever reason I’m getting more done than I’ve ever done. Perhaps it’s more time relevant, more in the moment and I can actually see the progress rather than wishing on a star. It’s also helped by the second hack I’ve employed this year.
Again, for all my life I’ve considered myself to excel at multi-tasking. That was certainly true for my younger self as a single mum, having a full-time job and completing a degree all at the same time. Nowadays I’m not so good at balancing all those spinning plates. And what’s more, it didn’t work. Not for my writing anyway. Now I split the weekdays into daily focused projects where I concentrate on one thing at a time. It could be a short story I’m polishing for a competition or editing on one WiP or researching a new one. Occasionally I find myself dipping into something I shouldn’t be but a sharp rap on the knuckles does the trick.
Having said I focus on a daily project, I do spend half an hour at the beginning of the day just getting those small niggly things of my list. The things that may seem insignificant, like replying to an email or some housekeeping admin, watering the pots, tickling the kitties… whatever. If I tick them off my list that’s more headroom for writing. And that can be a good thing.
For the past two months during the hot weather, I’ve set myself a target of daily, Monday to Friday, free writing sessions. The WA Monday Muse often forms one of these but I’ve also used them as preparations or the start of scenes in my current WiP and most definitely for the project the day. I’ve missed one or two days because of one thing or another. But it certainly has helped in me getting to The End.
What works for you?
