 In this Writing Day Workshops Q&A, author Andrea Knepper speaks with refreshing honesty about the emotional rollercoaster of the writing life. From battling a ruthless inner critic and wrestling with imposter syndrome to finding healing on the page and learning to surrender, Andrea shares the raw, real struggles and hard-won truths she’s discovered while writing young adult fiction. Whether you’re a new writer questioning your identity or a seasoned author fighting burnout and self-doubt, Andrea's answers give encouragement, practical wisdom, and the reminder that you’re not alone.  What’s the harshest thing your inner critic has ever said to you? What have you learned to say back to it? I’m the type of person who gives a lot of grace and praise to others, but my inner critic is not as forgiving. I have very high expectations of myself and tend to focus on qualities I lack or things I should be doing to succeed. “Stop sulking and get the crap done!” In a sense, it keeps me striving to put my best self out there, but perfection is unattainable, leading to burnout or spiraling comparison depression. “You’re not smart enough to be a writer. You’re wasting your life away. You’re too old. Dreams don’t happen for you. Why bother?” Yeah, ouch. When the lows hit, essentially, I can’t trust my emotions, which is tough since I’m an emotional person. But in those moments, I rely on prayer and logic to pull me out of it. It’s removing the lies I say to myself and replacing them with positive core truths. I am smart. I can do hard things. I have a voice that people want to hear. I’m loved even if XYZ doesn’t happen. Old people can write damn good books, too. At what point did you first allow yourself to call yourself a writer? Did that feel scary or presumptuous? How do you combat those feelings of imposter syndrome when they try to creep up again? Considering I inwardly cringe if someone mentions I’m a professional photographer—my day job of twenty years—calling myself a writer feels a bit presumptuous, but it’s met with sarcasm. Like, how dare I call myself a writer even though I’ve poured copious hours of my life into developing the craft? I used to see “writer” as a prestigious title that could only be earned by obtaining certain credentials. I began writing later in life, so I assumed all writers—the real ones—thought this way. But through connecting with the writing community, my view on this has changed. You can write for yourself. You can write for publication. You can write as little or as much as you want each day. Quite simply, you are a writer if you write, whether the prose sucks or you strike literary genius. Reading about other writers’ journeys and struggles also gives a real perspective on, “Everyone is a successful unicorn but me.” I’ve learned imposter syndrome can hit any writer at any stage.  Learn secrets and proven paths to finding an agent with the book GET A LITERARY AGENT. The guide explains query letter writing, submission dos and don'ts, how to craft engaging opening pages, synopsis FAQs, nonfiction proposal tips, literary agent pet peeves, and much more. What’s one way this manuscript has forced you to face something painful about yourself or your past? Everything I write holds a part of me that I’m either figuring out or digging out (a hurt), whether that be subconsciously or not. Sometimes it’s not clear until the first draft is finished, and I dwell on it for a bit. The first book I wrote, a new adult contemporary romance, which had no business in the query trenches so early on and rightly died for its abysmal writing, tackled a hurt I carried for years. It was and is still a deeply personal book. Even though it didn’t give me an agent or a book deal, it gave me much-needed peace and healing. If you could go back and spare your younger writing self from one specific pain on this journey, would you? Why or why not? As much as I would love to spare my younger self from any discomfort, pain is necessary if I want to grow. The only way I can learn from my mistakes is by suffering from them. It’s part of my journey, and I’d be robbing myself of any true success or humility if I always choose the easy road. Now, remind me of this when I’m complaining about how hard life is. What has this book taught you about patience, surrender, or acceptance? I’m currently writing book four, a young adult bug horror, and man, all three have hit me during this process. Publishing is slow until it’s not, and waiting for things to happen is tough. After I signed with my agent, imposter syndrome crept in and stalled movement on this book for months. More recently, however, I let go of worrying about things out of my control. One afternoon, after a fit of aggressive cleaning, I laid the fear and anxiety about publishing that plagued me for months at God’s feet and said, “Here it is. I can’t carry this anymore.” And since then, I’ve been oddly calm, and the words are flowing again.  Want to sell more books and market yourself? Check out the guide CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM. The book explains how to build an audience, understand social media basics, sell more books, increase promotion & publicity, get engaged online, and much more. When you imagine the person you’ll be after this manuscript is truly finished (regardless of publication), what do you hope has changed inside you? The book I’m writing touches on themes of identity, pride, vanity, redemption, and forgiveness. In the end, I hope to read my finished book with a new sense of self-love and grace. How has this long writing journey affected your closest relationships (for better or for worse)? In some ways, writing brings me closer to family but distances me from friends and doing the laundry. Sadly, I become a pajama-wearing, grease ball of a hermit when I’m deep in the thick of drafting or on an editing spree. My friends are very understanding, but I should try to maintain a good work/life balance. My husband is a great beta reader, mainly because we talk about the big picture aspects of my books, which I love. We’ve bonded a lot through that. My kids are also my biggest champions, especially my sixteen-year-old daughter, who also reads my work. What’s a fear about your writing that you’ve never told anyone before? I can’t say I haven’t told anyone since I wrote a Substack article about this recently, but I fear my writing might end up stuck, bouncing around in some ethical void: too edgy for Christian literature; too tame for what’s trending in traditional publishing.  Need an expert critique of your query letter, synopsis, novel/manuscript, or nonfiction book proposal? We have you covered. Check out our critique options and many success stories who found literary agents after working with us. How do you tackle writer’s block when you’re stuck mid-plot or with a flat character? Almost always, when I go for a walk with the dog and listen to an audiobook, I’m motivated to write. Even if I don’t put much on the page, it helps me fix a scene or change some dialogue that initially bugged me. When crafting a novel, how do you decide which themes or messages to weave in without making the story feel preachy or heavy-handed? Because I write young adult, I try very hard not to sound preachy since no teenager wants to be told what to do, especially in a book. If it did, my own daughter would throw the book across the room. I try to keep the story teen-led rather than the parents calling the shots. If the teen protagonist makes a bad choice, I write natural consequences without Mom gloating, “I told you so,” over her shoulder.  Andrea Knepper is a YA speculative author who writes to unload the junk on her soul and connect with readers and other writers. As a child, she loved storytelling and reading, often found under a makeshift tent of blankets, devouring books like Charlotte’s Web and spooky stories from R.L. Stine. As an adult, Andrea followed her artist’s heart to Penn State, where she met her future husband in the photography program. They both graduated with art degrees and a few dollars in their pockets to later build a wedding and portrait photography business, J and A Photography. Today, when Andrea is not writing, reading, running, or photographing high school seniors, she directs middle school plays and volunteers as a youth group leader. She and her husband are proud parents of two bunnies, one crazy dog, and two teenagers, who love to point out when Andrea is acting cringy. You can find out more at: https://andreaknepperwrites.com/  This post was complied by Brandy Vallance, a literary agent with Barbara Bova Literary Agency, an award-winning author, and a Story Consultant for Writing Day Workshops. Brandy is the winner of two national writing awards, one of which included a $20,000 prize. Her novel, THE COVERED DEEP, has been featured in USA Today & Writer’s Digest. WITHIN THE VEIL has been called “passionate and riveting” and Publisher’s Weekly encourages those who like sweeping Scottish sagas to dive in because “the journey is wonderful.” Brandy loves helping writers break the chains of fear and self-doubt. You can find out more at brandyvallance.com.  Pitch Agents at a Writers Conference in 2026:
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