Let’s not fool ourselves…writing is hard!  I mean, it’s great when we get into the flow, typing our hearts away, but then…impostor syndrome kicks in.

Have you ever read the words you’ve written and praised yourself for such a wonderful job?  Then, we put the manuscript down, and a few days later, we read it again, and bam! The inner critic attacks: “Why are you even attempting this?  You suck! This sucks! I am not a writer,” and on and on the self-mutilation goes. 

There’s a word for that: impostor syndrome.  I mean, who do we think we are anyway? We tell ourselves we can’t write and should give up. 

Please don’t!  If you write, you are a writer. We write because we can. So, let’s talk… You are not alone!

As a high school creative writing teacher, I created Story Structure Studio to help writers young and wise with their craft.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am by far a great writer. And I’m constantly asking my own students for feedback and advice. After all, we teach what we want to master ourselves…

But I do know my craft, in other words, the tools and techniques to teach and share with writers who might not have known one or more of these techniques before.

I’ve seen it again and again, that moment of epiphany where one new technique learned could just be the breakthrough you didn’t know was missing from your writing, that one technique that finally gets you published!

Yet, this part of my blog is different.  This is a place to share. This is a place to vent. We discuss the challenges we all face as writers in this modern, technically advanced world. This is a place to talk about the things that hold us back…

• Impostor syndrome
• Writers block
• Challenges we face with the advancement of AI
• Under-representation by publishers
• Challenges of plagiarism being a real danger in our technological world… 

Nonetheless, we also need to share our work with Alpha and Beta readers. How else will we truly know if our work is good?

Let’s face it, we all struggle as writers at one stage or another. But guess what?  That’s part of the process. Let’s be there for each other and support one another through it.  Because you know what?  The world needs our stories.

Each week, I’ll dedicate one post to just talking and reflection.

We’ll delve into the struggles behind the craft and explore the challenges we face.  I hope you’ll engage with me and others each week. We can vent our frustrations and celebrate our wins. It will be a place where we push ahead together as the scribes of the modern world.

So, what are some issues you’re dealing with behind the craft? Let’s talk and share.