Different Writing Journeys

Kaye Curren was a guest blogger here a few weeks ago. This morning, I read a post she wrote for another blog. She detailed her writing journey. You can read it here. I started thinking about how I began my writing journey and then about the way rest of the writers I know and those whom I have not met got started writing. 

I think we all began our writing journey in different ways. Many have the desire to write long before trying it. They had a delay for various reasons. I had always wanted to write but let Life get in the way. I was in my mid-fifties before Life smacked me and I chose to take a correspondence course on writing for children as a solution. Ever heard that old adage Out of all bad things comes some good? For me, that was certainly true. From this side of the fence, I know that the miserable situation I found myself in was the catalyst for my finally becoming a writer. I'm eternally grateful.

My oldest granddaughter, Alexis, wanted to be a writer from childhood on. I credit a primary grade teacher she had who taught her students to journal on a daily basis. I have a feeling that was what sparked Alexis's love for writing. She was a copy editor, then writer for her college newspaper. Now, she is in grad school but still writes when she can. She will be an English teacher when she finishes graduate school and she will teach middle school English with an emphasis on creative writing. I'm so glad she pursued her writing far sooner than I did.

Some of you began writing when only a teen. Others waited until they had experienced a lot of other things in life before becoming a writer. Remember this--even if you haven't published but write, you are a writer. Some feel that publication allows you to say I am a writer. Anyone who writes can proudly say I am a writer. If you've never said it out loud, stand before a mirror and say it to your image several times. Then, try saying it to someone else. Take quiet pride in saying it. 

A longtime friend, teacher and artist, always asked me if I'd written my book yet. In his mind, I wasn't a writer until I had written and published a book. That's so wrong. There are so many other types of writing besides writing a book. 

How many of you have written an essay or short memoir piece about how you got started as a writer? Wouldn't an anthology filled with stories of how people began writing be a great inspiration to new writers? 

Some of us begin writing at an early age while others waited until fifty or more. I wrote an article many years ago about people who began writing after age fifty. They were all people I knew personally. What impressed me was that, despite a myriad number of reasons for waiting so long, they all overcame whatever had held them back and could finally call themselves a writer. 

We all walked different paths to become writers. The best part of the journey is that we persevered and can call ourselves writer.

Talk To Your Mirror

I write a lot on my blog about believing in yourself, having self-respect, and looking at your writing journey with a positive attitude. One of my purposes here is to encourage writers and after years of being in the writing world, I know that all three of these things are necessary to succeed and that we can change by facing each day as a new day.

I am also aware that it's pretty easy to tell someone to work on the three things mentioned above but a lot harder to achieve them. It doesn't happen in an hour, or a day, or even a week. Change can be achingly slow. It's why we try to make changes and then give up when we don't see results as soon as we'd like. Kind of like those New Year's resolutions we'll make next month.

Many years ago, in the very early days of my writing journey, I attended a writers conference in Kansas City. The keynote speaker at the luncheon spoke to us about being brave enough to call yourself a writer. Too many writers, she told us, don't think they can claim the name until they are published. "Not true!" she bellowed, startling many in the room. She said that anyone who writes a story, an essay, a poem, an article can and should call themself a writer. She recommended that we practice saying I am a writer. while looking in the mirror every day.

Think about that. If you utter those four words to your image in the mirror day after day, you might suddenly begin to believe it. You could even add a word and tell yourself I am a good writer. What a good and simple way to learn to believe in yourself as a writer. When someone asks what you do, tell them whatever your job is and then say I'm also a writer. The more you say it, the easier it will become.

If you believe in your writing ability, self-respect should follow. It's the natural flow. The next station your train will stop is a place where you acquire a positive attitude about your writing journey. If you put your own writing down time and again, you'll end up wallowing in a pool of negativity. Try the mirror exercise and maybe your attitude will be positive more often than not.

Remember my friend who pedaled her essay to seventeen editors before one accepted it? She did it because she believed in her ability to write a good essay, thereby believing in herself. She respected herself as a writer and she carried a positive attitude with her. Maybe for her, it was a natural thing. How fortunate are those people who have that natural self-esteem. Lots of others have to work hard at achieving it.

Maybe a teacher or a parent, a friend or a sibling criticized your writing or your desire to be a writer. Experiences like that push you down pretty fast and it's not easy to change. The best part is that you can do it with time, with effort and maybe by looking into the mirror and telling yourself I am a writer. I am a good writer.