Am I a Writer?

Welcome to a new space for me, a new website and blog created to exercise some writing muscles and build some community outside of my day job. It’s been a long time coming, and feels a little . . . premature? Presumptuous? Something. Whatever it is, the impostor syndrome is rearing its head right now. But, as someone who has spent roughly twenty-five years studying and teaching people about work, I’m well acquainted with that feeling. I know that one of the best tools to get over it is to just do the thing. Claim your space and your voice. So here I am, doing the thing, whether anyone shows up to read this, or not.

I am a writer. That, also, sounds presumptuous. I’m preparing to query a novel (not the first one I’ve ever written, more on that to come), but I don’t have a publishing deal (yet!), so am I a writer? I have written a master’s thesis and a doctoral dissertation, which technically have been published and gather dust somewhere on a library shelf (and my parents’ bookcase). I have written two books on work, both of which have been published through an independent press. I write a monthly blog for Psychology Today on leadership, management, mentoring, and young professional development that has had more than 225k views to date. Do these things make me a writer?

Perhaps. Perhaps what makes me a writer is not the fact that I have written, nor that I have things that have been published both in print and online. Perhaps it is the present tense “am” in that sentence. I am a writer because I am writing. I am a writer because I choose to make writing part of my daily life. I am a writer because that is one of my strengths. And before you say, Wow, brag much? let me also note that I am most definitely not a singer, a painter, or a musician. I know my limitations, too. I am a writer because that is who I choose to be, and I am allowed to be anyone I want. You are, too.

Being a writer is, I think, an absolute gift. Just as I imagine being a singer, painter, or musician would be. Whatever it is that fuels you, fires you up, that thing you can’t not do, that thing that you would get up at 4 am to do because it’s the only way to fit it in around your day job (again, more on that later), that thing you do even if you never get published, get on stage, have a one-person show, that is a gift. That is your gift. What a shame it would be, to waste your gifts, because you think you don’t deserve them, yet.

I have no idea what this space will be. I imagine some musings on the writing process, on gathering feedback, and on the journey. Perhaps some thoughts on (non-writing) work. Not only am I a writer, I also am a (slow) runner and will probably share some thoughts on the humility of aging. I am an enthusiastic traveler and reader; maybe I’ll share some reflections on that. Will I post regularly? Will anyone read? Who knows.

Here is what I do know. Writers get better by writing. The world needs your voice as much as it needs mine. Impostor syndrome is a lie. So, all of us, let’s just do the thing. I’ll go first. I am a writer.