Am I A Writer?

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.

bigstock-Vintage-typewriter-with-Once-u-49849949

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!

Platform Conference Recap: 4/10 – Jeff Goins (He’s a Writer)

Session number four in this epic 10 part ‘recap’ series was delivered by Jeff Goins speaking on ‘Starting From Scratch: How to build a platform with words, passion, and people’.  Last July he published his first book, Wrecked, a really genuine look at his coming to awareness that he should be doing more to serve in the world.  Over the years Jeff has developed the ability to speak on this with authority, and, having built his home base, he has come to accept the calling of being a writer.  His struggle reminds me of what I read in Steven Pressfield’s book, The War of Art.  Pressfield speaks of amateurs and professionals noting that “the amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.”  Jeff is a professional, not because one day his writing magically changed.  Rather, to me, it is because he is humbly committed to his art.  There is a ton of great content here so stick around.

Vintage Keyboard

Writing, and eventually writing as a professional, is the key component to building your home base.  Without it your space on the web is just a forwarding office for the content of others.  You have to do your own thing, mine the rich uniqueness of your life for content.  This is of interest to many more people than you would imagine.  Why?  Because it is genuine.  It is authentic.