Posts Tagged ‘imposter syndrome’

I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] The Journey from Ideas to Anarchy with Cadwell Turnbull

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“You want to preserve your experience of the work.
You want to preserve the doing of the art.”
~Cadwell Turnbull

Amazing author Cadwell Turnbull joins us to dives deep into the creative process and discuss his latest book, A Ruin Great and Free. We talk about his writing journey, trilogy challenges, and approaching social issues in his books.

Blue logo to join the Fabulists via Patreon(This post went live for supporters on November 24, 2025. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon!)

 

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“The Journey from Ideas to Anarchy with Cadwell Turnbull” is brought to you in large part by my supporters, the Fabulists, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon!
Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!
CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.
November 24, 2025 | Season 21 Ep 22 | murverse.com
“The Journey from Ideas to Anarchy with Cadwell Turnbull” by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
In case it wasn’t clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.
I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] Exploring Romance and Reality in Writing with Valerie Valdes

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“You should be writing, because that’s the only thing that ultimately you can have
even a hope of controlling.”
~Valerie Valdes (Lia Amador)

New 2025 logo, tiny Mur on pink/orange background with purple circle saying I should Be Writing.Welcome back to the talented Valerie Valdes, also known as Lia Amador! We are here to launch her newest book, a fantasy rom-com titled Witch You Wood. We talk magical reality shows, romance, and tropes. We also get real about the struggles that persist even after being published.

Valerie discusses her experiences with self-doubt and how she manages to push through these challenges. We also explore the nuances of writing romance, the balance between subtlety and straightforwardness, and the significance of knowing your audience.

Blue logo to join the Fabulists via Patreon(This post went live for supporters on October 20, 2025. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon!)

 

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Purple illustrated book cover for Witch You Would, two people standing opposite with a cauldron in between themLinks

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“Exploring Romance and Reality in Writing with Valerie Valdes” is brought to you in large part by my supporters, the Fabulists, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.

October 23, 2025 | Season 21 Ep 19 | murverse.com
“Exploring Romance and Reality in Writing with Valerie Valdes” by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn’t clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] Embracing the Imposter Cop: Battling Doubts in Writing and Life

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“If you’re writing your stories down, you’re more than a writer than a lot of people ever will have the courage to try to be.”

I Should Be Writing cover with blue imposter cop It’s a solo episode! I get into the complexities of writing and self-doubt, the struggles of completing a manuscript, the challenges of balancing creativity with personal life, and the ever-present specter of The Imposter Cop.

We try to accept the importance of focusing on one task at a time, despite everything.

Also we talk about K Pop Demon Hunters, exploring its themes and storytelling techniques.

Blue logo to join the Fabulists via Patreon(This post went live for supporters on October 22, 2025. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon!)

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“Embracing the Imposter Cop: Battling Doubts in Writing and Life” is brought to you in large part by my supporters, the Fabulists, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.

October 27, 2025 | Season 21 Ep 20 | murverse.com
“Embracing the Imposter Cop: Battling Doubts in Writing and Life” by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn’t clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] From Idea to Ink: Tim Chawaga on Crafting Salvagia (plus Bully #6- The Party!)

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[Worldcon] was my first convention where I went to panels, gave a reading, and had a big party. It made my sweet little book feel like the huge thing it is in my heart and mind. -Tim Chawaga
S21 Ep18

In this episode, we welcome Tim Chawaga, author of Salvagia, as we dive into the depths of his near-future science fiction mystery set in a flooded Florida. Tim shares the inspiration behind his book, where a freelance Salvagia diver uncovers a dead body while searching for valuable artifacts from the past.

We explore the blending of genres in Salvagia, from climate fiction to humor, and discuss the delicate balance between plot and world-building in writing. Tim reflects on his debut at Worldcon, the challenges of imposter syndrome, and the importance of building connections within the writing community.

Blue logo to join the Fabulists via Patreon(This post went live for supporters on October 16, 2025. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon or get my newsletter via Ghost!)

 

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Cover of Salvagia with green ocean and red sky

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—
“From Idea to Ink: Tim Chawaga on Crafting Salvagia” is brought to you in large part by my supporters, the Fabulists, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.

October 16, 2025 | Season 21 Ep 18 | murverse.com
“From Idea to Ink: Tim Chawaga on Crafting Salvagia” by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn’t clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

Ditch Diggers, Podcasts, Projects

[DD] It’s a Multiple Whale Year for Ursula

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“Genre is a marketing tool, just like a book cover.” – Mur Lafferty

Ditch Diggers Season 11 logo featuring ursula illustrated In this episode of Ditch Diggers, Mur and Ursula rant about genre expectations, marketing, and what happens when you decide that genre isn’t for you because you’re special. 

Ursula lists her whales, and Imposter Syndrome doesn’t really make a showing when Mur travels. 

Highlights:
– (05:12) Ursula’s anxiety over multiple deadlines and projects
– (12:45) Mur’s recent business trip and the absence of imposter syndrome
– (25:30) The ongoing debate about happy endings in romance
– (38:15) The role of marketing in shaping reader expectations
– (47:50) The challenges of genre classification and reader assumptions
– (55:30) How personal growth as a writer often goes unnoticed

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(This post went live for supporters on June 9, 2025. Join the Fabulists or support my newsletter at Ghost if you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes!)

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Support Local Book Stores!

Ditch Diggers credits:
theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja,
site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon).
June 12, 2024 | Season 11 Ep 6 | murverse.com
“It’s a Multiple Whale Year for Ursula” by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon
is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] Writing Between the US and Peru with K.M. Huber

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“If you feel you have something to say, just put the time into saying it.” -K.M. Huber

New 2025 logo, tiny Mur on pink/orange background with purple circle saying I should Be Writing.In this episode, we welcome K.M. Huber, the author of Call of the Owl Woman, about her journey from writer to published author. K.M. talks about how her years in Peru, including extensive exploration and research into local mythology, affected her writing and her new book.

Call of the Owl Woman is heavily influenced by those years, and is written for her daughter (who asked for it many years ago.)

(This post went live for supporters on June 5, 2025. Join the Fabulists or support my newsletter at Ghost if you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes!)

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—
“Writing Between the US and Peru with K.M. Huber” is brought to you in large part by my supporters, the Fabulists, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.

June 8, 2025 | Season 21 Ep 10 | murverse.com
“Writing Between the US and Peru with K.M. Huber” by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn’t clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] Conquering Conventions and Crafting Confidence

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S20 Ep14: In Which Mur Dives into Conventions and Confidence

“You can’t stop caring about something… You stop what you do about it, but you can’t really just turn that switch off.” – Mur

Transcript

 

From the thrill of networking to the trepidation of tax season, Mur navigates the maze of a writer’s life with humor and honesty. In this episode, she shares her experiences and insights on convention attendance, from choosing the right ones to the art of mingling without the cringe. Plus, she tackles the ever-present concern of COVID safety in crowded spaces.

Whether you’re a cosplayer or a casual attendee, Mur advises on how to present yourself professionally, connect with industry pros, and enjoy the con experience while staying true to your comfort level. And for those not ready to dive back into the physical con scene, she discusses the merits of virtual conventions and how they can be a great alternative.

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“Conquering Conventions and Crafting Confidence” is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja,
and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.
April 24, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 14 | murverse.com
“Conquering Conventions and Crafting Confidence” by Mur Lafferty
is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] Navigating Imposter Syndrome on the JoCo Cruise

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Navigating Imposter Syndrome - season 20 episode 10“Navigating Imposter Syndrome on the JoCo Cruise” is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

Remember, some links may be affiliate, but they support the show at no extra cost to you.

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I Should Be Writing Season 20, Episode 10

Transcript

Photo of a baby humpback whale tail“I felt like a cuckoo among very pretty birds.” – Mur

Fresh off the JoCo cruise, we discusses the allure of nerd paradise and how navigating imposter syndrome is a frequent struggle. I share tabletop RPG antics, celebrity karaoke adventures, and the amazing feeling of having legitimately cool creators accept you. Self doubt did show up, and I’ll talk about how I dealt with that.

Drunken fools wandering down a hallway,

Also, what should I do for my 20th year podcasting celebration?

 

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If you can’t give monetarily, then consider leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts!

CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, site design by Clockpunk Studio
and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.
April 8, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 10 | murverse.com
“Navigating Imposter Syndrome on the JoCo Cruise” by Mur Lafferty
is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Don’t reject yourself

People, marginalized groups most of all, tend to do their own rejecting. They don’t see a lot of people like themselves in anthologies or magazines. They don’t see themselves so they don’t think people like themselves should even try.

Been there.

There are several times we tell ourselves no when it’s not really our job. Before we write the story. Before we submit the story. Before we accept the acceptance of the story. Before we tell people that we have work eligible for awards. Before we accept the nomination for the award.

We are convinced that if we do get acceptance, or we do get a nomination, or we do win an award, then something has gone wrong. We forget that it’s not our job to accept, nominate, and award.

Last week, Lifehacker published “It’s Not Your Job To Tell Yourself “No.””

Of course, if you really want to, then you can dream up reasons for why now isn’t the right time, this isn’t the right place, and you’re not quite ready… but I don’t think that’s your job.

It’s not your job to tell yourself no. It’s not your job to deny yourself opportunities. It’s not your job to prevent your own progress. There are enough people in the world who will do those things for you.

Your job is to embrace rather than ignore. Your job is to pursue rather than prevent. Your job is to tell yourself “yes” instead of “no.”

That’s your job.

Exactly this. It IS your job to write, to submit, to keep writing.

It is NOT your job to decide who goes into the magazine, who gets their book published, and who gets nominated or wins awards.

It sounds like you’re helpless. You’re not. You are only helpless if you try to control the stuff you don’t control at all, and it feels like the way to control that is to say NO to yourself before anyone else does.

But you don’t have that control. If you focus on what you do control – writing and sending that thing off, then you will be happy.

Happier, anyway.

Personal

Imaginary Faceless Time Traveling Haters

I’ve been afraid-a lot-in my life and career. It comes and goes, there are peaks and valleys. I’m sitting here now, grumpy and afraid. And I realized that I’m afraid that people will Find Out.

Imposter syndrome is not just you thinking that you’re not good enough to have achieved what you have. It’s not just feeling that your success is a fluke. It’s worrying that those things are true and everyone is going to find out. You’re only able to fool people for so long, and then it will be on the front pages. And by you, I mean me.

MUR LAFFERTY: LYING IMPOSTOR WHO LIES. COMPLETE SHIT WRITER. LIKE, SERIOUSLY, YOU GUYS. YOU HAVE ALL BEEN FOOLED. 

And the people who reveal this, the ones who break the story and blow the whistle, they are going to be outraged and furious and come and take away your awards and erase your good reviews and go to the house of everyone who has purchased anything from you and tell them to demand their money back because you’re just not worth it. You’re giving these faceless people power over you, power to cancel your achievements, power to erase the fucking past. 

That’s a whole lot of power. And if someone had that kind of power, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t go back in time to fuck up your (my) career. Come on, we have Hitlers to kill and stocks to short and famous people to hang out with before they become famous and we can say we Knew Them When.

So I want to remove that power from the imaginary faceless time traveling haters. And I’ll do so by the simple matter of confessing, removing the ammunition from their time travel hater gun.

  • I don’t know what I’m doing. I write silly or weird shit. People sometimes like it.
  • Sometimes when good things happen to me, I’m so confused about it-how did THAT happen?-that I don’t immediately have what most people consider the proper response. And if something good happens, but not what I expect/want, it’s even harder to process.
  • I have an ambitious indie project I want to do this year. It is scaring the shit out of me. It scares me because I’m afraid that I will get shell shocked by attention, depressed by lack of attention, or delayed because of other projects, and quit in the middle. (it’s serial fiction, can’t write it all and then release it because of reasons and baseball.)
  • Sometimes when I actually think about the fact that people are actually listening to my podcast, I get panicky and my mind goes blank and I can think of absolutely nothing to say. This causes podcast delays.
  • I have written fanfic about a video game. This makes me feel delicious that I have gotten away with something, and worried I am unoriginal.
  • I secretly feel like the vehicle that is my career is a stuttering, choking, rusty jalopy while every one of my peers is driving a sports car. Logically, I know this is untrue. We all struggle. Emotionally, I’m a pig in the mud and everyone else is a soaring hawk.

I’m sure there are more, but I have things to do. I have a 2015 writing schedule to make up and a freelance project to finish. I have fears to get over and time machines to break.

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