ON IMPOSTER SYNDROME AND STEALING WRITING FROM YOURSELF

Dear Blog,

It's been a while since I wrote. You know, Covid. It's getting us all down. Also my new novel was released and I've been busy doing events for that. But I've also been avoiding my novel and instead writing poems and making videos.  But—and maybe this is a useful thing to talk about here—I also recycled and adapted a blog post that I wrote here for a really great newsletter/website by the writer/educator Kathryn Mockler called SEND MY LOVE TO ANYONE  

Why is it useful to talk about? Well, it uses the principle of recycling for new purposes. I wrote a blog post here and then expanded it, added visuals and altered the focus a bit to make it a more fully fledged essay. I find I've often taken less formal things and then edited and expanded them so that they be used for something else. I've made Facebook posts into the basis of speeches, turned speeches into essays, notes for class presentations into essay, and quick notes into stories or poems. Sometimes having begun thinking about something, having another chance to develop the ideas after a while is the best thing. It is like writing an essay in slow motion, or--what's that French phrase about thinking of the perfect retort when halfway up the stairs: esprit de l'escalier

literally wit of (the) staircase, denotes a retort or remark that occurs to a person after the opportunity to make it has passed. It originally referred to a witty remark coming to mind on the stairs leading away from a social gathering.

So you get another chance. And you know that thing when you've created something and then you notice lots of content related to it afterwards, as if it became especially relevant, I guess because you feel a kind of "ownership" or personal stake in the subject--well, that happens to me after writing something. So the adaption lets me take that new content and context and fold it in. 

So here's my revised post, now more fully about imposter syndrome, self love and hate and the writer. I'd definitely recommend subscribing to the newsletter - Kathryn is a brilliant writer and teacher and it is really worth following what she's doing. I find it both really helpful and inspiring.