We've got out-of-town guests today for the weekend so I won't be updating this for a few days. Given that, I wanted to leave you all with something I've learned - and it's only taken me fifteen years to get through my thick skull. I would love for you to learn it faster.
What did I learn? That I am a writer.
Easier said than done, believe me!
For the longest time I was TRYING to be a writer, or I HOPED to be a writer. But long before I got my agent I realized something: writing isn't a job, it's a state of being. It's not an accomplishment, it's a way of life.
Now I know you've all heard this before and are probably thinking "Duh," which, apart from sounding like my sixteen year-old daughter, would be right on the mark. It is obvious. But be realistic: how many of you are thinking you won't be a writer until you publish something? Until you get an agent? Until someone who is NOT your mother, brother, sister, or pet goldfish absolutely LOVES your work?
No. You're a writer the minute you decide to be one. How good a writer you are is a different story: we all have room for improvement. Heck, most critics will tell you that J.K. Rowling's last Harry Potter book is much stronger than the first.
But if you have a dedication to putting pen to paper (ok, well, finger to keyboard), and it drives you to complete stories, essays, opinions, biographies, whatever, you are a writer. If you long to convey some kind of emotion through the written word, you are a writer. If you love to inform and education and take people on a path of discovery through description and narrative, you're a writer. Doesn't matter if no one likes it, or if you're six years old.
It's who you are, not what you do.
Oh, and if you love to doodle, you're probably an illustrator.
Have a great weekend and remember: Write on!
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