Fake It til You Make It

I am not fond of the phrase Fake it til you make it.

I understand the concept - we must first conceive before we can achieve - but I take issue with the semantics.

To me "fake" means untrustworthy. A fake friend is not loyal. Fake jewelry is cheap. Someone who is faking is essentially lying.

I do not want to be fake. I want to be authentic. But is my authentic self a writer - or just a writer wannabe?

This week I realized if I want to become a writer, then I first need to act like one.

Rather than faking it, however, I am choosing to imagine myself an writer: what she looks like, how she lives, what she does... and then I will do those things. Consistently. Until I actually become an author.

Because I have a difficult time with self-accountability, but I respect an academic syllabus, I am beginning this process by taking a 3-credit hour class. I am going to read the writing books sitting on my shelves and actually do the exercises at the end of each chapter. A typical college course involves three hours of class time and about six hours of homework. I will therefore plan to dedicate 9-10 hours a week to my writing career.  I imagine an author devotes that kind of time to her craft.

I currently have two works-in-progress: a non-fiction memoir and a middle grade novel. Besides the book exercises, I plan to work on one or both of these each week as well. For now I do not have a deadline for completion - or even a weekly writing goal - but I'm sure that will come in due time. While a writer simply writes, I imagine an author determines to complete projects and is not content with just journaling and writing prompts.

I also need to develop a confident answer to the constant question: what do you write? For I imagine an author would not simply smile meekly and admit she is still trying to find her niche.

For now I write, but I imagine myself becoming a writer in the not-too-distant future.

New Beginnings

It won't happen often, I promise, but today I thought I would copy and paste what I wrote for my 365 project picture on Flickr.  Since today is my blog's self-designated topic of Writing Wednesday - and the subject matter for the photo fits that theme, I thought it was suitable.

While I do not plan to limit my 365 photo project to these prompts, I am enjoying Katrina Kennedy's January list of helpful suggestions.   Today's prompt is New Beginnings - and here is my response.

A new year - a new lease on life.

Since kindergarten, I have always considered myself fortunate to celebrate two "new year" celebrations:  January 1st and the First Day of School.  I supposed I was destined to become a teacher, as my most favorite shopping day of the year is mid-July when I stock up on school supplies.

That euphoria has now made its way into my hobby life as well.  Over the past few years I have discovered a love of writing - and while my preferred method is clicking on the QWERTY keyboard, there is something that draws me to the "old fashioned" method of writing in beautiful journals with decorative pens on the blank page.  I have numerous journals waiting for me to put pen to paper - either as notes for future NaNoWriMo stories, or as quotes from treasured reading, or as family stories to preserve for the next generation.

There is such excitement about the blank page - and all the potential that it holds; and at the same time there is such fear at marring the pristine page with dribble.  This year I don't want that fear to keep me from realizing the dream of becoming a writer.  I want to write - and imagine - and document.  This is indeed a new beginning to a fresh start in this second half of life.