A lot of writers feel like imposters, and not in a good way, like Rudolf Rassendyll in The Prisoner of Zenda. What to do?
Imposter syndrome, obviously, is when you feel like an imposter without actually being one, or at least not on purpose. It not only makes writers feel bad, it makes them hesitate to share their work with readers—the ultimate artistic tragedy! Again, what to do?
Well, several things, but let’s start by recalibrating your expectations. Against all the evidence, we tend to believe that all successful authors write really well: far better than we do. But do they? Let’s find out!
Who’s the Imposter Now? Check out the Bottom of the Amazon Top 100 List
It’s time to take a look at successful books in your niche and see how good the worst of them are. You can do this for free with the Search Inside the Book or Kindle Free Sample features.
Obviously, if you write as well as the worst stories on the Top 100 list, you’re good enough for the Top 100 list. Maybe just barely, but good enough nonetheless. How good is that? Let’s find out.
Lester Dent was the creator of the classic pulp-fiction hero, Doc Savage, and a powerful story-creation formula, The Lester Dent Master Fiction Plot, published in 1939. I’ve presented it below, fleshing it out where needed with my own commentary.
From here on out, Dent’s words are shown in normal text, while mine are in italics.
I have two complete novels out: One Survivor (a space opera) and Silver Buckshot (a romantic urban fantasy thriller with extra banter), and others in the works. This site talks about my stories and also about fiction writing in general.
Thirteen-year-old Princess Flavia has endured a lot recently. Polio crippled her legs and killed her mother, her father is sunk in grief, and her servants veer between negligence and cruelty. She takes refuge in her books and never complains.
But she draws the line at being murdered. Fourteen-year-old Frank Barron, a contender for the most aggravating boy in the universe, conceals her when the shooting starts. This is no accident: a letter told him what to do. It’s signed, “Love, Flavia.” She has no memory of it, and, anyway, she can’t tell the future! Or fall in love. Can she?
This is “a romantic fantasy thriller with the banter turned up to eleven.”
When was the last time you enjoyed a science fiction book where teenagers put an alien ship back together? One Survivor is the kind of old-school SF adventure you love, with competent, strong-willed characters, believable technology, fast-paced action, humor, mystery, murder, betrayal, and a touch of the supernatural, all set against the backdrop of the ruined Terran Empire.
One Survivor will remind you of Heinlein’s early work, but with a depth of background more like Jack Vance. It pits fifteen-year-old Beverly di Mendoza against her parents’ murderers, on a backward planet whose inhabitants owe her nothing. With the help of two other teenagers and their battered spaceship, Beverly survives the initial onslaughts and soon moves to the offensive.
