Howdy!

It’s hard to believe it’s already the last day of Indie E-Con! It’s been a spectacular week full of all things writing! Missed any of it? You can find all the posts and links over on Kendra’s blog! Also, Adela’s Curse is up for some awards! If you’ve read it, I’d love if you would head over and nominate it!

Today I wanted to talk about something I definitely struggle with – being able to talk about being a writer.

I know a good percentage of the writing population are introverts, which means if you’re like me, then you don’t like talking about yourself and talking about the characters and stories you’ve spent hours and hours writing in solitude fills you with such a great fear you’d rather take on a rabid bear with your bare hands.

Ridiculous, isn’t it?

Here’s the thing. YOU WROTE A BOOK! How awesome is that? You’ve taken the time to be the best writer you can be. You spent time researching. You had long chats with characters to make sure you got their story right (yes, it’s a thing). If you’re published you can hand that book to someone. Even if you’re not published, you can still tell a scary human being about the story you wrote.

I know from my personal experience, it’s gradually gotten easier to talk about writing. My first book signing event, I was a puddle of introvert mess. Eye contact was a scary thing. Brief descriptions were mumbled through. And great was the shock when someone actually bought it.

Three years later, I still occasionally struggle. Last week I was at a Comic Con with a table of books. And something awesome was happening. I was excited to talk about my books. Conversations aren’t that hard to start. Now my sister still gives me a hard time for not doing more to reel customers in and press the sale. But I’m proud of where I am right now.

The other day when someone asked me what my hobbies were, I proudly stated writing was and that I wrote fantasy. For the longest time I think I was afraid that it was pretentious to say “I’m a writer”, because come on, we all knew that kid in English class. And it was bragging to say that I have published books.

Don’t be afraid! Declare your accomplishments! People think it’s amazing that you’ve taken the time to write a book and then publish one! And it is amazing! Especially since we know first hand all the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into that shiny book.

So next time someone asks you what you do, look them in the eye and confidently and proudly state that you write books. And that you’ve published books. Don’t be a closet writer. I’m willing to bet that writing is a big part of your life. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge it, because if you’re like me, then it’s shaped who you are today.

Over to you! Do you find it hard to talk about your writing? I want to hear your writing brags!