…. and Why It Doesn't Mean You're Not a Real Writer
If you've ever hesitated to call yourself a writer (and I have quite often), even while you're actively writing, you're in extremely good company. This feeling doesn't mean you don't belong here. It's close to universal.
Charlie Jane Anders makes a point worth thinking about: no one will ever show up with a magic wand and declare you a "real writer." There's no ceremony, no certificate, no moment where the doubt is supposed to switch off. Success as a writer means different things to different people, and nearly everyone feels like they're failing at some point. Anders also makes a subtler point that's easy to miss when you're in the thick of comparison: writers aren't really in competition with each other; the real threat to any of us is people falling out of the reading habit altogether. Someone else's book doing well doesn't shrink your shot at anything.
Hermione Hoby's New Yorker piece on MFA culture gets at where much of this pressure comes from. She points out that "talent" gets treated almost like obscenity — something you supposedly just recognize on sight, impossible to define or teach. That idea sounds intuitive, but it's also the exact belief that makes new writers feel like either you have "it" or you don't. Writing programs and workshop culture didn't invent that anxiety, but they've spent decades reinforcing it.
Here's what both pieces circle back to: the fear of not being "real" is a byproduct of a system never built to make anyone feel secure. It's not a verdict on your work. The fix isn't proving you belong. It's finding people to write alongside who are wrestling with the same doubt, because that's what actually loosens its grip.
So, where does your imposter syndrome show up loudest? Starting a new project? Sharing a page for the first time? Sitting with your own writing, still?
Here are the articles that led me to these thoughts.
https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-real-writer
https://reactormag.com/never-say-you-cant-survive-imposter-syndrome-is-just-part-of-being-a-writer//