For author and educator Dana De Greff, there is nothing more difficult—and nothing more exhilarating—than writing. And in her 10+ years of leading writing workshops, one of the biggest hindrances she’s found to finishing any writing project is imposter syndrome.
“We tend to give in to our anxieties, fears, and false beliefs that whatever we’re writing is not ‘good enough,’ that we’re not talented or qualified enough to write that book, blog post, poem, whatever,” says De Greff. “But the thing is, it’s simply not true.”
Born in Miami, De Greff received her Master’s in Creative Writing from The University of Texas at Austin. Despite being a “Master,” and winning several awards for her writing, she struggled with feelings of inadequacy.
“I kept comparing myself to my peers,” De Greff says. “I was only twenty-three when I started, and I thought my writing was garbage. I thought UT had made a huge mistake by letting me in, and oftentimes I felt so alone.”
As it turns out, imposter syndrome, or what psychologists call ‘imposter phenomenon’ is experienced by 70% of people at some point in their lives, according to a 2018 article in the International Journal of Behavioral Science. And the idea that you may have succeeded due to luck and not because of talent or qualifications was, “first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes. In their paper, they also theorized that women were uniquely affected by impostor syndrome.”
After several starts and stops, De Greff finally went back to writing full time when she entered the Masters in Fine Arts program at the University of Miami in 2015.
“I was one of the oldest students in my cohort,” De Greff says, “and in a way, that was a blessing. I’d lived a bit more, and was able to focus on my work and passion for storytelling.”
In three years she finished a draft of her first novel, as well as short stories, essays, and poetry chapbook entitled Alterations that would go on to be published by Seven Kitchen Press. She also received a Knight Arts Grant for PageSlayers, a free Creative Writing summer camp for kids in Opa-Locka. After graduating in 2018, she got an agent, wrote a second novel, and began working on a memoir about her time working and living in Patagonia National Park. With the latter, she began to feel the familiar tugs of imposter syndrome. 
“I had never really written about myself, and I started to get caught up in this negative loop of ‘why does this story matter’ and ‘what if people judge me,’” says De Greff. “And that’s when I started to be more open about my fears with other writers. And that’s when I started to get free.”
De Greff now openly shares her experiences in the classes and workshops she teaches in the hopes of inspiring other emerging writers, especially women, to share their own stories.
“I’ve told myself that my writing is worthless, that and nobody will ever publish or read it,” De Greff says. “I’ve been so mean to myself, so harsh. And I’ve found that, unfortunately, this is all too common amongst women. We’ve been conditioned by society to doubt ourselves, and it takes a lot of work to undo that.”
This is all too common amongst women. We’ve been conditioned by society to doubt ourselves, and it takes a lot of work to undo that.”
De Greff suggests that when negative or invasive thoughts come to try writing them down, acknowledging them, and sharing them with a trusted person. She also likes to remind herself that if she is feeling or thinking something, odds are, someone else is, or has, too.
“Even Maya Angelou dealt with imposter syndrome,” says De Greff. “She famously said, ‘Each time I write a book, every time I face that yellow pad, the challenge is so great. I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody and they’re going to find me out.’ That, to me, is bonkers. I can only hope to inspire people like she did, only dream of having that level of impact.”
If you want to dive deeper into this subject, De Greff will be speaking at our month-long Women for Success Virtual Conference Summit #InvestInYourself2021 and hosting a Writing Challenge all month long for attendees! Join hundreds of women from around the world, and level up your life and your business with over 40+ Speakers and Masterclasses, all included with your ticket. PLUS attendees can apply to win a small-business grant. Woot woot! Click here to learn more.
Dana will also be teaching a workshop thorough the Austin Bat Cave called No Room For Fear: Writing What Scares You Wednesday, May 19, from 6-8 pm CT.
She will also be leading writing workshops in May and June through The Writing Barn and Books & Books. 
For more, follow Dana De Greff @DeGreffWriters and danadegreff.com

WRITTEN BY

Lauren Marsicano