In the spirit of Halloween (pun intended) and on the heels of the Texas Book Festival, here's a spooky literary anecdote.

In attendance at a TBF meet-and-greet at which I had far too much wine and not nearly enough hors d'oeuvres--are there ever enough?--I found myself in conversation with a prominent author who's been enjoying a lot of attention recently. A lovely fellow, really, until he innocently asked what I do for a living.

"I run WriteByNight," I said. Then, like an afterthought, "And I'm a sometimes writer."

I was immediately ashamed.

Why the qualifier? Why the sudden demotion from a writer to a *sometimes* writer? Where in the world had that nasty little adjective come from?

I'll tell you where: from that place of fear and self-doubt that I come up against every day--and I'll venture to guess that you do, too.

I'll tell you why: In that moment, surrounded by accomplished writers who I imagined had each written a novel before breakfast, I allowed myself to feel small. We imagine all kinds of self-destructive things when we're afraid. I added the "sometimes" like a safety net, a warm blanket in which to wrap my insecurities. 

Sound familiar?

With a lot of pain, a lot of practice and a whole lot of therapy, I've gotten pretty good at keeping these negative forces in check, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't crop up from time to time, usually in an intimidating situation in which my literary achievements are set into relief by those of the writers around me. 

What's scary is not the negativity itself--unfortunately, it's very natural--but the consequences, the way that fear and self-doubt make us turn on ourselves. What to do about it is to be fearless.

"I am a writer." 

Say it now. Say it out loud. Better yet, email it to me.

Eagerly awaiting your affirmation,
Justine