There are right ways and wrong ways to do certain things--you generally recognize the wrong way, because it doesn't work--no one can tell you here whether you are right or wrong because no one can hear what it sounds like when you play---the sound is the key thing--

As a guitar teacher, I have worked with a lot of people who started out "self-taught"--most of them didn't know how to get a good solid sound out of their instrument, particularly when it came to fingerpicking--

One thing that I must say also, is that, notwithstanding all of you "Do what you want how you want" types, you can't do any damn thing you want and call it "Travis Picking" --and also, clawhammer or frailing style guitar is a distinct style of playing all its own, and not the business LJ above describes-- check this, or Basics of Clawhammer Guitar. touch base with Mudcatter Jody Stecher who is pretty well known for playing this way--