Imposter Syndrome

Tweet it to the world! I write, therefore I am a writer.

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"I'm not a real writer."

​Sounds familiar, right? Anyone who has spent time writing or in the company of writers have likely said this or heard someone else say it. "I'm not good enough to call myself a writer. I'm not published. I'm not like [insert name of famous author here]."

​According to Merriam-Webster, "The term 'impostor syndrome' can be traced to a 1978 article by the American psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, 'The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention.'"

​A quote from their article:

The term "impostor phenomenon" is used to designate an internal experience of intellectual phoniness that appears to be particularly prevalent and intense among a select sample of high achieving women…. Despite outstanding academic and professional accomplishments, women who experience the impostor phenomenon persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise. Numerous achievements, which one might expect to provide ample objective evidence of superior intellectual functioning, do not appear to affect the impostor belief.

​Although originally referring mainly to women, the term "imposter syndrome" is now used to describe the feeling of inadequacy shared by all artists, and other humans.

The feeling is common and familiar, but why are writers—I'll focus on wordsmiths, specifically, for the time being—so quick to devalue their accomplishments and reject their role? After all, many writers hail the profession as a calling, something they must do. To hear writers speak about why they put pen to paper, you'd begin to believe in destiny. So why do so many insist they aren't "real" writers?
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What is a writer?
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Let's start at the beginning. For this question, let's hop over to our trusty dictionary, Merriam-Webster:
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"Definition of writer: one that writes"

The entry goes on to state the aforementioned writer may be an "author" or "one who writes stock options." But at its core, the definition is simple. One who writes is a writer.
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Why Writers Refuse Their Name
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Why is it so difficult for writers to own their status? My opinion is that it comes down to an inability to separate the worth of the work from the worth of its author.

I've written quite a bit about this issue. It's something I experienced playing college softball, and it's something I see a lot in the writing community. People have the mistaken impression that their self-worth is determined by their work.

Playing softball, I often felt that if I struck out, it was a reflection of me, not simply my performance. Now, if you had asked me whether striking out made me a bad person, of course I would have answered no. But that didn't stop me from feeling and acting as though that were true.

Similarly, writers become so attached to their work, their "babies," that they begin to feel like an extension of themselves. Considering how much of ourselves writers put into our work, that's not surprising. The consequence of this is that rejection—from a reader, an agent, a publisher, etc.—feels like a rejection of us. It feels like the world is saying we're not good enough, not just that that one specific work isn't good enough.

When we begin to think like that, it makes identifying as a writer difficult. We feel like we're missing something inherent that "real" writers have.
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Why Rejecting One's Role is Harmful

What is particularly dangerous about this line of thinking is that it makes growth incredibly difficult. If we were born without this magical writer gene, we have no hope of ever reaching true writer status. We begin to write off our successes as luck and to expect failure.

There is a lot of rejection in writing. Someone is always telling you no. Your short story isn't good enough for our magazine. Your manuscript isn't good enough for our agency.  Your book isn't good enough for our publisher, and then our bookstore. Even successful writers deal with rejection, so if each rejection feels like a personal attack, moving forward is nearly impossible.

Devorah Allen posed a wonderful question on Twitter recently:
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Imposter syndrome is so prevalent among writers. Many find it hard to call themselves writers, even after dedicating their lives to the craft. I was lucky enough to have a teacher who reinforced the fact that the time and energy I dedicated to my writing made me a writer.

— Victoria Griffin (@victoria_grif7) June 1, 2018

For me, that knowledge gives me the confidence to write honestly and without fear. If I were spending time doubting myself, my work would suffer. There is enough doubt in the work, without doubting our right to create.

— Victoria Griffin (@victoria_grif7) June 1, 2018

There will always be rejection in writing. You will always wonder if your work is good enough and if you will ever reach your full potential as a writer. As Hemingway famously said, "We are all apprentices at a craft where no one ever becomes a master."

But if we allow ourselves to fall into the trap of rejecting our identity as writers and devaluing our work, we are only adding to the pile. If you are passionate about writing and if you devote your time and energy to telling stories and growing in the craft, you are a writer.

Everyone, say it together.

I am a writer.
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