So You Want To Be A Writer

You want to be a writer. You’re bright eyed and bubbly and you say to yourself, “I can do this. I know I can." So, you start out on the journey. You take a writing course. You join a critique group. You buy a daily journal to write down your thought and ideas. You begin.

And then you slowly start to realize that the journey is not as easy as you thought it was going to be.

Writing is subjective. People reading your work are subjective too. The road to success is not a straight one. You have to make your way through a maze of different perspectives and opinions. You have to consider criticisms that are helpful and weed out ones that are not so helpful. In fact, some can be downright counter-productive. You learn how to tell the difference. A strong dose of humility and developing a thick skin go a long way.

It dawns on you that writing is not for the faint of heart. It points out your weaknesses. It challenges your sense of self worth. It frustrates you when you revise your story for the umpteenth time and it’s still not working. And, it terrifies you when you stare at a blank page and wonder when, if ever, that creativity will start flowing again.

Here are some things I’ve discovered about the writing journey:

1. The amount of territory to be explored is overwhelming.
2. Unless you’re a freak of nature and find writing easy, you proceed step by torturous step.
3. Comparing yourself to anybody else is the kiss of death.
4. You can over-rewrite to the point of losing your voice.
5. If your joy in writing is missing, you’re probably listening to too many other voices in your head.
6. The journey never ends.

​The great take away is that you come to understand things that go beyond basics and techniques, although those are important. You begin to understand life principles and things about yourself. It’s one thing to “go for it.” It’s another thing to keep going for it.

That’s what separates the wannabe writers from real writers. You have to keep going for it.