A few years ago, I was scared to go to bookish and literary events by myself. I was also afraid to ask anyone to go with me for fear of being perceived as taking things too seriously. But over the last few months, I said f*ck it.
I’ve lived in South Carolina for more than a decade and for many of those years I convinced myself I wasn’t a real writer because I wasn’t published, because I wasn’t agented, because, because, because. Something switched when I wrote my second book—not the first, we don’t talk about that one. But the second book I wrote, With the Band(more on that here), was kind of like… Okay, maybe I can write this. Maybe I can write books. Then I had to revise it and that feeling went away. Until the next book, but that’s a different story.
I started feeling like a real writer only quite recently because I successfully drafted and revised a novel. Did those feelings go away after I wrote May is Due South and tried to revise it? Yes, but that’s not the point. I think that maybe these last few years of creating writer content and learning more and just being around other writers has helped tremendously because we’re all just trying our best. It helped me realize, I am allowed to take myself seriously and go to literary events—even if I have to go alone.
It started with my idea to go on a solo trip to Savannah that I couldn’t justify as just going to Savannah so I scheduled it around events that are not writing related per se, but events meant to fill my creative well. SCAD Film Fest was one of the first events that inspired my need for more, including Southern Gothic Festival hosted by Kershaw County Library. It was a busy October, but those two events really helped me in several ways because it opened my eyes to a world I always thought was closed off to someone like me.
Yes, I am a writer and a creative who loves to explore many outlets like screenwriting, photography, sewing, painting, and literally anything I can get my hands on. But I am also a Black woman who often feels misrepresented in all of those spaces. So being in a space surrounded by other creatives and attending these events and listening to other creatives talk about their process and how they got where they are…It was low-key life changing. It altered my brain chemistry and when I went to Read Freely and was surrounded by Beautiful Black readers??? My mind was blown.
Southern Gothic Festival, SCAD Film Fest, and Read Freely were creative adventures that opened up my eyes to flying solo no matter what. I found that I loved it so much, I went to Savannah for my solo birthday getaway. If I didn’t take a chance on going alone, I’d probably still be stuck in the same mindset that I was going at this alone or worse, I would’ve given up on it all. Being in rooms filled with people just like you does something to your soul. It’s medicine and I encourage everyone to go to as many literary events as possible.
Is your local library hosting anything? Maybe there’s a local group you can see if they have anything coming up. No matter how small, just go. You never know what could happen. I’ve been to at least two in the last month where I didn’t know the author, but I’d seen their book covers somewhere. Even if you’re just a butt in the chair: go.
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