Tripping Over My Own Assumptions
Recently I had a speaking engagement where I discussed my challenges as a writer, and the six years of creative ups and downs it took to complete my recently published novel, The Last Place She’d Look. The audience included a wide range of people, twenty-somethings to senior citizens. As I spoke, I surveyed those who were front and center: three college age guys who appeared disinterested and arrogant. I thought to myself, "They're not getting me. They're not my readers. Why aren't there more old broads here?"
After the meeting, that trio of young men, the ones I was certain were "not my audience", came over to ME after the meeting to hug and tell me how I inspired and encouraged them and gave them a blueprint for how to be successful writers. Many past experiences have shown me that as women grow older, we seem to disappear and become invisible to society, I learned that sometimes I contributed to not wanting to be seen or heard by others outside my own demographic because I thought I didn’t meet the ideals most of our culture deems important. I have to stop stepping on my own feet. I learned that I'm valuable beyond what I perceived as "my audience". Thanks boys, for teaching me a great lesson. This old broad learned a new trick.
