Belonging

I'm back from LTUE and didn't take a single picture. This year was very different for me. I went with the purpose of being with my writing friends and not for all of the learning. This was a year of taking comfort in the writing community and it worked amazingly well. I spent a huge amount of time with my roomie, Julie Wright, who is an awesome friend and amazing author. I got to hang out with my buddy James Dashner, who I think of as the little brother I never know whether to hit or hug. I made new friends with Kristi over at Hoontah and hung out with old friends from the many other conferences I've attended. Even my hat sisters were there. There were local authors and national authors both on panels and in the audience and I felt as if I were part of this huge, supportive community.

I felt like I belonged.

It was the first time I've attended this particular conference that I felt like I was part of something bigger than just myself. There was no awkwardness, no pining to meet big name authors but too afraid to approach them. I just introduced myself and hung out with them, feeling as if I had a right to be there. After all, I'm a writer too.

That's the thing I've had to come to understand. Being published doesn't make you a writer. Writing makes you a writer. And if I take my writing as seriously as they do, then I'm just as much a writer as these successful authors are. I may not have the notoriety or the paycheck to go along with it, but I am, without any doubt, a writer.

I write, therefore I am.

Quote of the Day: "If I fall asleep with a pen in my hand, don't remove it - I might be writing in my dreams."

~Danzae Pace