I Have a Name

Hi there, faithful readers and anyone who stumbled upon this blog!

When I began, so many years ago, I titled this place “Waiting for a Name,” because that’s what I was doing. From waiting to find the right name for a character to waiting to finish my manuscript to waiting for a book deal… and then more waiting. Three books published, and I don’t know if my name will ever be familiar to the average reader or if that really matters. Writing, like life, involves an awful lot of waiting, sometimes for things that will never come, sometimes for things that never mattered in the first place. I decided from the start of my writing adventure to be comfortable in the spaces between happenings.

Thanks for sticking with me through the waiting.

Last weekend, I attended DFW Writers Conference in Dallas, Texas. It was a lot of fun and a lot of exhausting. I came home a mixture of discouraged and inspired. Discouraged, because I lack the confidence that seems to come so easily to others. Inspired, because I know I have stories worth telling.

Seth Korkowsky, a speaker at the conference, recently blogged about his experiences with Imposter Syndrome, which in short, involves always feeling like a bit of a fraud, even when you have the credentials to prove you’re perfectly qualified. Every word Seth wrote resonated. I might be a crappy marketer, a scatter-brained speaker, and a terrible housekeeper, but I know I’m at least a decent writer. I just don’t feel like I am.

I don’t share this to elicit pity, but to declare war against the stupid voice in my head who keeps asking if I have any right to try to pass myself off as an author. Maybe you have a voice like that, too, whatever your profession.

My war starts with no longer Waiting for a Name.

It starts with Lisa Dunn.

Last night, I set up a shiny new website, and yes, I claimed my name. Please join me at  lisadunnwrites.wordpress.com. Together, we’ll silence the doubt.