How to be a confident writer when English is not your native language

Imposter syndrome is real.

In my case, it rears its ugly head every once in a while, mainly when I’m writing. In my case, it rears its ugly head every once in a while, mainly when I’m writing.

Credit: Chris Yang — Unsplash

You would think that after writing in English for over thirty years and publishing a novel, short stories, and articles in The Washington Post, Elle, and Esquire, I would overcome my imposter syndrome.

No, not quiet.

Is English not your native language, and you find yourself in a similar situation?

Here are my tips that will push you to keep writing and creating in English, even if you think the odds are against you:

- Remind yourself of the greats.

Nabokov was Russian.
Joseph Conrad was Polish.
Kazuo Ishiguro is Japanese.

They did it, and did it brilliantly.

• Invest in some copyediting tools to ease your mind. My favorite is Grammarly. Hemingway is also a good one.
• Use your native language to your advantage. I throw in Arabic words in my writing and readers love that.
• Remind yourself that many of your readers speak fewer languages…