“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” ―Ernest Hemingway

You can refer to yourself as a writer, an artist, or a creator. All it takes to declare yourself a writer is a writing utensil and some paper or a word processor and a keyboard. Minus the actual act of making sure you are creating on a regular basis…it’s simple.

You can NOT refer to yourself as a doctor without proper schooling and a medical license. Try it…bet you’ll be in some deep shit if you get caught. Likewise, you can’t bestow the title of a parent onto yourself without ACTUALLY having someone to parent.

Perhaps that’s why falling victim to imposter syndrome seems higher when jogging down a creative path. Nobody is walking up to an M.D. and saying “Oh, that’s it, huh? Just going to stand there and call yourself a doctor now? I mean, who or what have you even cured?”

Imposter syndrome discourages, it makes you question, it creates fear and anxiety, and yes, questions such as “So what makes you a writer now?” exist. As I mentioned in my last blog, investment helps lead the fight to push through imposter syndrome. With regular investment, you gain the ability to not only get the “one-up” on imposter syndrome, it also lessens the need to fight it.

I’m not writing this because I claim to be an expert on maintaining a theme, creating more relatable characters, or cleaning up your writing (although you should probably remove most uses of ‘that’ and ‘just’). No, I’m writing this because I struggle with balancing a life where I attempt reaching creative goals; because it took me over forty damn years of existence to decide this was a direction with enough priority in my mind to pursue and say, “Yes, this is who I want to be.” I KNOW there are others out there like me, others that haven’t made the commitment yet but wish to, and I’d love you to join and stay among the ranks of the wonderful writing community I’ve met so far.

So, you’ve committed to following the path, and you feel like an imposter. THIS, my friends, I am an expert at!

Investment is the answer, and here are the ways I have learned to invest in myself in order to fight off that dreaded imposter syndrome:

1. Invest in the community

I mentioned it above, but one of the first ways to ensure you manage to invest in your abilities is to invest in communities centered around writing (or any other creative avenue). They are noted in my ‘about’ page, however, one of the first steps that I made upon committing myself to writing as much as possible was joining a writers’ group. I now have a group of fellow, local writers who admittedly have been doing this longer than me, discussing the craft, focusing on specific elements of writing, critiquing each others work, and generally being able to help me learn about the process, including editing, querying, etc.

I hate to admit it, but social media has been a better tool than anticipated, particularly on Twitter. I have joined recently, and despite all the negativity and vitriol, the writing community on Twitter has been one of my most pleasant surprises since committing to following the path of a creator. Using hashtags like #writingcommunity, #writerslife, #writerslift, #amwriting/#amediting/#amquerying will begin to network you to similar-minded individuals, and I personally have had some fun viewing all the other creative projects from unique people around the world.

2. Invest in knowledge

I’ll keep this one short. You shouldn’t need to be reminded, but the internet is umm…expansive. There’s a lot there. What you may NOT realize, however, is the pure amount of resources available to writers and creators alike. Online courses for free to little cost, videos of well-known authors teaching courses on writing fiction on Youtube, writing prompts galore for simple journaling or kickstarting your next short story or novel. Even the amount of podcasts designed to help you write is larger than you would believe! My personal favorite podcast, which helped me to rev up my writing was the Write Now Podcast with Sarah Werner. Perfect while trying to figure out how you’re supposed to write a novel while managing work, your home, family, etc. Despite that being the one that I listen to, it’s not even included on this list of writing podcasts.

Of course, there is plenty of information outside of the internet…you know, the old way (and the way I prefer). There is also plenty of literature from editing your works to establishing the mindset needed to point yourself towards regular writing. Stephen King’s “On Writing,” Browne & King’s second edition of “Self-editing for Fiction Writers” and Jeff Goins “You Are a Writer” are some of the books on my shelf, and I am positive I’ll continue reading more of them in the future.

3. Invest in ideas

Real easy question: Who the hell doesn’t enjoy playing with toys?! Again, the internet helps with this one, but there are a lot of really fun, interesting resources for writers out there. This one in particular, which I CAN’T WAIT to dive into, The Story Engine Deck, essentially has five separate decks, which placed together create rather interesting prompts. The five decks consist of a subject, an adjective, the “Engine” moving the story, the anchor (typically a destination, desire, object, etc), and a typical result or effect of the action.

For a very quick example, I tossed five cards onto the floor (they can be turned with different options on each side) and came up with “A shattered grump wants to control a work of art but will bear the scars for all to see.” Toss another set, not including an adjective this time, and I get “A ghost wants to let go of a keepsake, but they must reconcile with an old enemy.” Well, shit! I’m intrigued! Who is the ghost? What is the keepsake? Who is the enemy and why are they enemies? The story deck manages to be fun while jogging your creativity. With expansion decks for fantasy, horror, steampunk, post-apocolyptic, science fiction, etc….I can’t wait to have some fun with this…it manages to stoke the fires of creativity without handing you the flame thrower.

I also can not finish this portion without noting to invest in your own ideas. What I mean by this is allow yourself to be creative…ALWAYS. Keep a small notebook or an app on your phone available so when you have the opportunity…capture the idea. Now, for my final way to invest in yourself, and for me….the most important….

4. Have Others Invest In You

I don’t want to be that person that puts a sentence between every word to stress its importance. I won’t. I refuse…BUT! I can not stress this part enough…one of the single most important things you can do to invest in yourself is to have others invest in you.

This involves the friends and family that follow your social media page(s). It includes those offering to be a beta reader for your manuscript after multiple edits. However, without the assistance and investment of those closest to you, resistance is very likely futile.

If you feel you need to put more effort into your creative goals, you have to verbalize it. Explain it. And request help getting there. Again, have others invest in you.

Welcome, friends…this is where we get personal…

I can’t remember the day, it had to be around nine months ago, and I sit here now surprised that it seems so much more recent. However, as Christmas started to roll around in 2020, I had a discussion with my wife. I don’t ask for much during Christmas. I have enough shit, and my days of the newest Playstation game have dwindled to an hour or two raiding the occasional Final Fantasy XIV dungeon before turning it off for two weeks. I wish I remembered what the hell made me ask for it, but when asked what I wanted for Christmas, I simply (and somewhat cryptically) asked for things that would help me write. I don’t even know if I knew what that meant, other than the fact that I love notebooks and mechanical pencils.

She knocked it out of the entire fucking park.

What you see pictured is a small jar…maybe for seasonings or herbs. I’m guessing there are still thirty of these small scrolls in the jar, barely two inches long and wire-wrapped in different colors. Whenever I need the motivation, need the reminder as to why I do this, why I decided to create a website discussing the writing process of a complete ‘noob,’ or even wish to celebrate an accomplishment like completing my first novel manuscript, I open one up.

Between the jar with the scrolls, the ornament above, a calendar with literary quotes and a desk lamp that doesn’t make my office look like its lighting had been designed by a fourteen-year-old goth, I learned exactly how much the investment that OTHERS place into you help you to invest YOUR time, energy, and creativity towards your goal.

The writing community wants you and needs you. Invest in the people that are already there and network via local groups and online communities. Look into any resource you can to get better at the craft; listen to and read the words of those that have been there. Keep your mind open and available to take advantage of any ideas that come your way to give yourself extra fuel for that creative fire. Finally, have others invest in you. Have them invest in your energy and the places where you need that energy to flow (spoiler alert, it’ll make for a stronger relationship).

The imposter syndrome comes in waves. Sometimes it laps at my shore, nothing more than a broken swash I need to tiptoe away from. Other times it feels like Teahupo'o crashing down. And yet…when I am actively putting that effort forward….and rest assured it is effort…but when I’m invested in the writing community, actively seeking knowledge and fueling my own ideas, all while others have given me the green light to pursue this passion and goal…it gets real hard to feel like I may be an imposter…and those waves don’t stand a chance.

How do YOU invest in yourself? Are there any particular ways you have had others invest in you? What are your favorite ‘investments?’ Let me know your thoughts!

Are you interested in sharing your creative process and talking about your own work? Reach out to me on the contact page and a future blog may center around you!