Today I felt that I was an imposter. I attended my first writers group meeting. There. I said it. It feels good letting the world know I faked my way into this group of people who did not know me and assumed I was, like them, a writer. Did I make it through the hour without being found out? Read on.
CayWriters, according to their Facebook page, is a community of writers who live in the Cayman Islands and offer support and encouragement to each other, share resources, and provide feedback. I have tried to get to a meeting for months but travel or other events kept getting in the way. Today was my first opportunity to sneak into this group who really are actually writing. My plan was to sit in the back. Observe. Listen.
Dammit!
There was no ‘back’ in the room at the bookstore. Just a circle of seats. Before the meeting even started I knew I would be found out as a fake. Nowhere to hide. Impossible to leave. I darted out to grab a double shot skinny latte to add some writer style coffee sipping angst to my setup which included the regulation Moleskine notebook.
The meeting started with quick introductions. Great! My unmasking was now complete. I actually used the phrase “rank amateur” to describe my level of writing to the group.
You know something? Saying that phrase out loud to the group was in some strange way cathartic. Something changed. Strikingly, in the instant I said those words I regretted them. All the posts I had written and the comments that I have received on this blog came rushing into my mind and I felt that perhaps I had let my work and my commenters down more than just a bit.
A quote from Jeff Goins book ‘You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One)‘ came to mind. “Writing is mostly a mind game. It’s about tricking yourself into becoming who you are. If you do this long enough, you begin to believe it. And pretty soon, you start acting like it.” For the first time I had, albeit in the most self-deprecating manner, identified myself publicly as a writer.
In his book ‘The War of Art‘ Steven Pressfield notes, “If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), “Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?” chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.” Well, I was scared to death walking into the meeting tonight and certainly was not self-confident in telling the other attendees what I wrote about.
So perhaps, just maybe, I am a writer.
David:
Of course you a writer, and the timing is great for you to be a published author before the end of the year!
I’m putting together a book (working title: “Husbands Home Alone”) that will be a compilation of
stories/anecdotes/observations/etc. on what happens to husbands when their wives leave town. I know that all of us married guys have an amusing story or two of either helplessness or disaster that occurred when our wives left us alone for a few days. Whether it was a home project gone horrible awry, a visit from “the boys” that messed up the house, a car/house/kid/pet problem that we didn’t handle well, and/or other plans that didn’t quite turn out how we expected (going for
general comedy and avoiding heavy sex, drugs, violence, etc.).
Want to knock out a submission? If I can get it done on time, you’ll be handing out paperbacks at your Christmas party saying things like: “Have you seen my latest book?”!
Of course, you’ll a short author bio — with a link or two to promote your blog
or other appropriate sites — and photo.
I’m doing this primarily to have some fun and to promote myself and my author friends who are contributing to the book, so I will be doing a lot of give-aways, etc. and will price it low for
maximum exposure.
You definitely have the writing talent and the sense of humor to be featured in this project … if this fits in your plan to get some positive exposure as an author,contact me for details.
Scott Frothingham
NOTE: Although I’ve just been contacting friends and family about this, if any of your new friends at CayWriters would like to submit a piece, they are welcome (any friends of yours are friends of mine).
Great post, David! Welcome to the group. I know you will make an awesome addition, and will have your own wisdom to share with us amateurs :-)
David, It was a pleasure to have you in our group and hope you continue to stay with us as it is evident that you bring so much to the table. This is a wonderful group and will find yourself connecting with each meeting. I look forward to hearing your works of art. Elke has been my mentor and has helped me with my journey so much. It’s good to know you are tech savvy as this is my biggest weakness. Once again, a big welcome to you!