I |sairk|referrer|eirhk
sit down at the keyboard and pretend I know what I’m doing or writing about or know how to make complete sentences.
I pretend that I have something to say and that others want to hear it. That they need to hear it.
I pretend that it is more important than any of the other far more important things I could be doing.
I pretend that book I just wrote is the best thing I’ve ever written.
I pretend the next one will be even better.
I pretend I’m not procrastinating on writing the next book by still writing this one instead.
In other words (and in so many more ways than this), I fake it.
But, then, someone quotes a complete sentence I wrote because they enjoyed it.
Someone else tells me that I said something they needed to hear.
Then my wife tells me the work I’m doing is important.
And someone whose work I admire tells me they enjoyed my book and they think the next will be even better.
Then, I realize that I could not have finished writing my next book without laying the groundwork and learning some lessons from this one.
Then I know I’ve made it.