by Angela Ruth Strong, @AngelaRStrong
In my day job as a flight attendant, I have the freedom of being incognito. I’m only there to help the unaccompanied minor clean up his puke and keep the drunk guy from opening the door before the plane lands. (Okay, I’m actually there for the stories. But anyway…) It’s like I have a secret identity!
If you think about it, all writers are incognito in real life unless they out themselves. And I’ve heard about many writers who are afraid to claim they are writers. I mean, we communicate best from behind a keyboard. We don’t get to edit the things that come out of our mouths, which can be scary. But I’m here to encourage you to be like Iron Man and take off your mask so you don’t miss the opportunity to become a team with other writers.
As for my secret identity, I see lots of readers on airplanes. I’ll ask if they are enjoying the book they’re reading and make recommendations. Occasionally, I’ll see someone editing a printed manuscript, and I’ll be like, “Are you an editor or writer?” I thank/encourage them. Then this weekend happened.
A gentleman was reading a script.
Me: Are you an actor or writer?
Him: (Pause) Writer.
Me: Me too! (And other stuff I later wished I could edit.)
Then I went back to my galley and looked up his name. You guys, this man wasn’t only a writer. He was a director. A producer. I’d seen most of his movies as have you. I wanted to fangirl like we’re not supposed to.
Instead, I decided to do a trash run to pick up cups and napkins. La-di-dah-di-dah…
Me: Oh, hey. How’s it going? Did you write Star Trek?
You guys, he asked about my movie. He congratulated me on Finding Love in Big Sky!
When I’d told him that I was a writer too, it was like Superman finding out about Krypton for the first time. I was a little kid trying on my dad’s cape. We are not the same, but I want to be. And I’m so glad I got to have that experience. I got to have a passenger encourage me instead of the other way around.
So wherever you’re at, however incognito you choose to be, make sure you’re also authentic. Make sure you claim your true identity without fear of what others will think. Because this is your story, and it’s okay for you to be the hero.
In a world full of happily-ever-after love, Meri Newberg feels like the last young woman on the planet to be single, at least in her Christian friend group. So when she’s handed a strange present at the latest wedding–a 1950s magazine article of “ways to get a husband”–she decides there’s nothing to lose by trying out its advice. After all, she can’t get any more single, can she?
Her brother’s roommate sees the whole thing as a great opportunity. Not to fall in love–Kai Kamaka has no interest in the effort a serious relationship takes. No, this is a career jump start. He talks Meri into letting him film every silly husband-catching attempt for a new online show. If it goes viral, his career as a cameraman will be made.
When Meri Me debuts, it’s an instant hit. People love watching her lasso men on street corners, drop handkerchiefs for unsuspecting potential beaus, and otherwise embarrass herself in pursuit of true love. But the longer this game goes on, the less sure Kai is that he wants Meri to snag anyone but him. The only problem is that he may not be the kind of husband material she’s looking for . . .
Angela Ruth Strong sold her first Christian romance novel in 2009 then quit writing romance when her husband left her. Ten years later, God has shown her the true meaning of love, and there’s nothing else she’d rather write about. Her books have since earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been optioned for film, won the Cascade Award, and been Amazon best-sellers. She also writes non-fiction for SpiritLed Woman. To help aspiring authors, she started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho, and she teaches as an expert online at WRITE THAT BOOK.