the craft. acting as a writer.
Recently, my husband and I were discussing what makes a great actor. What we realized in that conversation, and what I’ve gleaned from my minimal time around acting classes, is it’s not really about acting at all. Sure, they put on different costumes, learn some techniques, and may venture into past time periods, but the actors who translate most to us on screen, are those who don’t seem like they’re acting at all. They are finding parts of these foreign characters that truly connect to something real for them.
What does any of that have to do with writing? Well, there is at times this persona of what a writer is supposed to be. Moody, brooding, the owner of a wide array of turtlenecks, and I think people can get lost in the perception of what they think a writer is, instead of allowing themselves to simply be writers.
I know that I have sat in certain rooms and thought to myself, “I am nothing like these people.” And where at times, I allowed that to make me feel like I didn’t belong, I know now that’s my power. Wouldn’t it be wildly boring if we were all the same? Came from the same backgrounds and pedigrees? What I realized was I could take these unique parts of who I am and use it in the writing. Hello, debut novel that was all about the music industry!
I’m not a fan of turtlenecks. I love air maxes and rap music with lyrics that express some sentiments I’m vehemently opposed to in real life but we need the energy for the gym. Regardless of my vast vocabulary, I like to sprinkle expletives into some conversations for dramatic effect. I wanted to dance to Waka Flacka’s “No Hands” in the middle of Tuscany on the last night of an intense ten days of talking and thinking about craft. All of this, and I’m still a writer.
It’s so important to me to cultivate a space in the literary community where you feel like you belong. Where you can show up as your full self and shed the pressure of what you think it means to be a writer, so you can actually get to the work of writing.
Are you showing up to your practice? Are you dedicated to doing the work to close your gaps and get better? Are you finishing something so that next time you can submit for that open call instead of dreaming about it?
We can put on the turtleneck (I promise I don’t hate them that much), and order the chai latte at the trendy cafe with our laptop opened, but we are nothing more than bad actors if we’re not allowing ourselves to see our stories through. Allowing ourselves to write bad drafts that aren’t bad but stepping stones to get to something great, to have something to put forth even though you might be rejected and it’s painful, but it’s too ingrained in the process for us to have thin skin.
Are you a writer? Or are you acting as a writer? That is a question only you can answer for yourself.
Block Club Chicago is looking for a News Editor with a passion for community journalism. Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit news organization focused on Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods, is looking for a full-time News Editor to help guide reporters in their coverage of Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Gray Wolf Press is hiring a Development Director. The Development Director leads Graywolf Press’s fundraising initiatives and creates and monitors its annual departmental budget. The Development Director will be a frontline solicitor of major gifts, comfortable managing an active portfolio of donors and finding new prospects. ($125k, NY or Minnesota, Closes Sept. 20)
Electric Lit is seeking personal narrative submissions. While there are no restrictions on form or subject matter, submissions should center narrative and consider what it means to essay; in other words, write to interrogate, investigate, adventure, and introspect (Closes Sept. 17)
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Join us for our Words in Progress reading. We’re doing our first virtual reading and we want to hear what you’ve been working on. Don’t be shy, sign up to be one of the readers. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeK4m_xEDybt0-mWt8onAKs3VlaPsJwogZJsL11RLkj8IXKFQ/viewform
Philadelphia Stories Pitch Fest. At this virtual event, writers can meet one-on-one for 15 minutes with an agent/editor. Writers need only bring 5 pages of their work, a query letter, and their “elevator pitch,” and they’ll meet in a private Zoom room with the agent/editor of their choosing. Register now for the chance to pitch your work! $40/Meeting. https://philadelphiastories.org/september-2024-pitch-fest/
The Well Read Black Girl festival is back on October 26th. Tickets are on sale for $120. https://www.wellreadblackgirl.org/festival-onsale