Feeling like a writer

A few weeks ago Gina went to Montreal for the weekend. Her best friend has a business trip up there and the two of them left a little early and saw what they could see up in Canada.

I spent her time away doing a little editing and correcting. Also did a little writing. Then when I went to the airport to pick her up I took my idea notebook with me. I started planning out some ideas for the next story in my series. I actually got a lot done, a lot planned. I like where the story is going. I like the new characters that I sketched out. It could be fun. A little chase story.

Once I saw passengers from Gina's flight come through the door to baggage claim I closed the notebook and moved closer so Gina could see me. It was while I was waiting that I realized for the first time in my life I felt like a real writer.

Don't get me wrong. I thought of myself as a writer. Someone who enjoyed stringing some words together. Someone who enjoyed telling stories. But it wasn't until then that I thought, "You know what? I'm a writer. A legit writer."

I think that what it was that made me feel like that was I had one story I was editing, one story I was writing, and one more story that I was planning. I had something in all three stages of production. That's not something I've had before. Well, not true. I've been editing and writing at the same time, but this was different. All three stories were linked. Required me to plan them. Required me to make sure they all worked together. That's what was different this time. And, I have to admit, it felt really cool.