Hello, Dear Reader,
I recently completed a five day social media challenge. Our day two exercise was to write a simple bio that included who we are, what we write, and why it matters to our readers. Right…just a simple bio. Are you laughing yet?
Identity stories are powerful. What you choose to say defines you, and provides guide posts about what you do and why you do it. But my identity story is complex, like my writing.
I got this far:
I am an inquisitive artist, story teller, and geeky scientist with a twisted sense of humour. I am a survivor not a victim. I grew up an American on Canadian soil. I see Science, art, language, and stories as ways to explore and express how we understand a complex and beautiful world. I write fantasy and science fiction stories about characters who face terrible situations yet choose to change their worlds for the better, gritty thrillers, and poetry that explores creativity and connection.
I write fantasy and science fiction stories about characters who face terrible situations yet choose to change their worlds for the better.
Eli Winfield
My writing does not fit into a pretty marketing box with simple labels. But maybe that is the point.
Readers buy books (or don’t buy books) as much because of the personal connection they feel to the author. My identity, a smart woman, a geek, an immigrant, a scientist who loves languages and art, are part of what helps me to write the stories I write. My stubborn helped me win against incredible odds over the years, but that same pig-headed inflexibility has made me choose to do things the hardest way possible, particularly with writing and publishing. If there was a super power called moving a mountain by hitting your head against it until it fell down, that would be my super-power.
Last round I pushed my identity into a little box-writer, teacher, mom. The Quit-Cast really made me question working this way. This time, I want to play to my strengths and one of those strengths is the fact I cross boundaries and ask questions.
This is about creating community and having fun while sharing my imaginary friends and their worlds.
I want to make this journey into publishing about creating community and having fun sharing my imaginary friends and their worlds. Letting go of stories with grace and skill matters to me. I need to find an easier way, with systems and a framework for the business side of writing. Luck, timing and the willingness to keep going play their part in this business, but so do good choices and systems and checklists.
So, Dear Reader, what stories form your identity? And how do you use your strengths to shape your impact on the world around you?
Eli
Eli Winfield, Author 