Struggling With Impostor Syndrome as a Foreign Writer

I’ve always wanted to become a writer. It’s one of the few dreams that I’ve carried along since childhood.

Growing up, I wasn’t meticulous or patient enough to become a paleontologist. I wasn’t handy enough to invent the world’s first flying car. But observe the world around me, weave my impressions into a story, and put that story on paper? Surely, I could do that!

Turns out, it’s not so simple.

My biggest issue when writing is that I grew up bilingual. While I’m often told how lucky I am to have acquired a second language “for free,” it’s been a huge impediment to my confidence. To this day, I’m not comfortable calling myself a writer.

Despite dozens of articles and tens of thousands of readers, I still feel like an impostor.

Working with self-crafted tools

Good writing requires more than language skills, the same way good architecture requires more than the ability to build. It’s a masterful craft. But while the sky’s the limit, few practitioners ever get off the ground.

To build a story, you need three things: raw materials, a blueprint, and sturdy tools.

Raw materials are everywhere. They can be gathered in nature, by observing and reflecting upon the…