At every level, language has the power to create something from nothing.

Books and literature, theater, poetry, song… they lift us out of our seemingly endless cycle of chores and illuminate all the pitfalls and glory of the human experience.

Although also a pun on the time-honored tradition of “pretending,” the title of this blog refers to this act of creation.  Writers, artists, musicians make… and, breathing something into their creations through their gifts and effort, we believe what they are creating.  The same applies to the story of our lives.  We are ever in the process of making what we believe ourselves to be.

As any artist knows, this process does not always effervesce, lifting us into the froth of inspiration.  Many times, we must wrestle like Jacob with the angel on the banks of the river, testing our strength and resolve, our task in many ways a mystery.

Join me as I examine the creative process, and my own attempts to wrestle with it.  What wonderful stories will we get to believe in, when all is said and done?

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Alexandra is a freelance writer and editor, transplanted to Colorado’s Front Range from New Jersey.  A lifelong bookworm, outdoor enthusiast, and semi-pro linguist, she has long been fascinated by the workings of human language, and the intersection of art, expression, and the self.  You may visit her homepage here.