Fake it 'til you make it

Feb 19, 2026

INKTOBER52 PROMPT NO.8

Hello Inkers!

I hope your week was full of good things, inky and non-inky alike. I loved fishing around in the hashtag for last week’s prompt and seeing what everyone was doing, and it’s amazing to me that there were fantastic examples at all skill levels. I know it’s tempting to feel like we need to compare ourselves to others or merit our participation in things but I loved seeing talent and beauty in a large range of experience.

I attended a book club last night. We are new to the state and some lovely new friends have taken me in and made me feel so welcome, that when they invited me to this book club, I had to say yes. The problem? Historically, I’m not enough of a grownup to be a part of a book club. When people start discussing character arch and conflict and all of that in a very serious way, I get the giggles. Everyone else is having a great intelligent exchange and I’m over here, fighting for my life trying not to let on that I’m basically a giant child. Last night was different and the conversation was actually wonderful and applied to real life situations with only one hiccup: I didn’t finish the book. So yes, once again I found myself at a book club, pretending I belonged there. I did pretty well while they were talking about the part I had read, but had to do some serious nodding and looking contemplative when they moved on to the rest of the book. I was tempted to feel like I cheated my way in the door but then found out there were like 5 of us that didn’t finish. Whew!

I may not have done as much to prepare as some of my friends, and I may not be on their same level of understanding about some things, but I had a dang-good time because it was a subject I enjoyed and I felt loved by the people I was with. And there were treats! (hello, raspberry rolls)

I’ve heard from some participants of Inktober that they feel like pretenders because maybe they don’t have the same skill level as others or they ran out of time on a particular prompt. Don’t worry about it! The goal isn’t to have the “best” example of the prompt or to be featured in our newsletter or stories, the goal is to draw, to improve, and to find friends who lift you up (and to turn around and do that for others.) You’ve got this!

And maybe when all else fails, make some raspberry rolls and try again next week.

-Alison

#inktober52 #inktober52pretend

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