Yesterday the postman delivered three new books to me. Our postman has impeccable timing. Having just finished Wild by Cheryl Strayed, I wandered around the house in a dull depressed daze, stricken with the end-of-a-great-book-doldrums. And yes, I have tons more books I could be reading, but I couldn’t wait to receive these particular books.
Two were books about writing recommended by Crescent Dragonwagon during the Fearless Writing seminar I recently attended. Magical writing secrets were hidden inside these books, I was certain.
The other book Flights of Fancy was fresh off the press, written by Fearless attendee and my new friend Crow Johnson Evans. I wanted to read and own and smell the book published by someone I spent three days with writing and laughing and talking. And crying, there was a bit of crying. Crow was someone who gave me hope it could really happen, this book-writing-thing.
In addition to my three amazing books, we received a tardy Christmas card (but I’m not knocking it, I never mailed mine…), a(nother!) William-Sonoma catalog and a Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Cosmopolitan Magazine?
I don’t have a subscription to Cosmopolitan Magazine. I’ve never had a subscription to Cosmopolitan Magazine.
According to the label, John now has a six-month subscription to Cosmopolitan Magazine. His name was even spelled correctly.
What an interesting little twist.
I accused him of ordering it for me. He accused me of ordering it for him.
Was this a prank played by the guys at his office?
A strange mistake?
I don’t know, but he took that magazine to bed with him and read it front to back:) And it seemed to hold his attention better than those Game of Throne books he’s been wading through for weeks…
talya
musical pairings:
I like the main article on the cover. Can I borrow the magazine when your husband is through with it?
You’ll have to ask him:)
Very funny. I did NOT do it! I really think you have this book-writing-thing down pat. It is just a matter of time…………B
Hummm! Not guilty! One of you probably ordered it from some school kid selling door to door. Never doubt your writing skills!
There’s not a writer alive who doesn’t doubt themselves. I’ve come to believe this.
Over on my own blog, I published a quick-and-dirty bullet-point list of things I learned at writing workshop Viable Paradise back in October. Take a look at the top two: “Everyone there had some form of Impostor Syndrome,” and “Even the instructors.”
Twenty-four writers of science fiction and fantasy, at various stages in our careers (from not started yet (me) to has had several things published and edits anthologies) all had the same fear: The other twenty-three were selected on merit, but we were only selected because they needed a twenty-fourth person.
And when we expressed this fear, the instructors–all highly published, popular authors and/or editors/publishers–let us in on a little secret: each of them felt the same way every time they are around other writers. “Someone is going to figure out that I don’t actually know what I’m doing and then they’ll all point at me and laugh, and I’ll have to give back all the money I’ve been paid.”
I think you’re in good company if there are doubts and fears–and the occasional tears. 🙂
haha…This is hilarious, and John, whose looks, to me, could pass for Superman, is definitely my hero as Cosmo Man.=) Any man who can read Cosmopolitan magazine from cover to cover is extraordinary, and to read it in one night, really is a superman!=) The reason I say this is because from what I’ve heard, Cosmopolitan is around a hundred pages long, and 99 pages cover reasons why women shouldn’t have sex with their husbands!=) However, the title of the main article seems to refute this rumor…Now, a I’m wondering…are you sure John read the whole magazine from front to back, or was he just memorizing the techniques in that main article…like most of us men would have been doing?=)
He may have just been looking at the pictures:)
Next thing you’ll tell us is that John has a Murse! too funny!
OK, what’s a Murse?
Not sure. A man purse?