People often tell me they wish they could be a writer. My response? “What’s stopping you?”
Their answers are generally the same — never took a writing class, no time to write, wouldn’t know where to begin. So I offer a simple suggestion: start small. Grab a journal or laptop computer and write about your day. Or whatever is right in front of you, literally. Once, to get the creative juices flowing, I wrote about a candle on my coffee table. Turned out to be one of my best works because it wasn’t about a candle after all. The beauty of writing takes you places you never imagined.
Speaking of unimagined destinations, writing has introduced me to quite a few. I’ve made lasting friendships as a result of a shared interest I wrote about (yes, there is an unofficial Hungry Bear Drive-Thru Fan Club; yes, many people hold on to written letters and aren’t considered hoarders, thank you very much; yes, others dance in their kitchen).
These friendships have formed bonds that supported me through good and not-so-good times. In fact, I have several writing friends I’ve never met but consider close confidants. How? We took online memoir writing courses together. Nothing bonds you like pouring your heart out in a personal essay.
I’ve also discovered a lot through writing. First, I never met an exclamation point I wasn’t totally in love with, but my keen editor — I’m talking to you, Mr. Dave Schlenker — wisely directed me toward restraint. On a more reflective level, I’ve learned things about myself that I didn’t know existed until they spilled out onto the page. Which is one of the absolute best parts about forming words into sentences into paragraphs into something surprisingly revealing.
I believe the popular perception of being a writer originates with the wrong expectation. Some tend to equate writing with being published in a magazine, newspaper, book or blog. It’s easy to build up an unrealistic notion of success before even the first word appears on the page.
Remember my start-small advice? Ditto on why you’re writing, not what you hope to achieve as a result. Narrow your scope and you’ll broaden your intent. I’ve found, and bet you will, too, this gets to the heart of your purpose. And, spoiler alert, if you are writing because you want to be published, you’ve ruled out the most meaningful potential: connecting to a reader. If you start at this authentic level, you’ll do just fine, one connected reader at a time.
Still, I recognize the art of crafting the written word can be daunting. So, I’d like to offer three easy steps to be a successful writer:
1. Open your journal or turn on your computer.
2. Start writing.
3. Don’t stop until you’ve written a minimum of 500 words about anything. And I mean anything. Resist editing yourself. So far, so good? Congrats! You’re a successful writer! Sorry, Dave. I couldn’t resist!!
This Thursday, my first book, a memoir, will be published. I’ve been writing for more than 30 years, so I’m hardly an overnight success. If I sell one or 1,000 books, my ability to write will not be impacted because my definition of success is not found in book orders, it’s found in people; in whether or not my writing means something to the reader. The irony is that I wrote the book with just three distinct readers in mind: my children and husband. We’d been through so much. This was my way to show the depths of my love for and appreciation of them.
Last summer my daughter and I read every page of the final draft together. Most nights, we ended up reading in my bed, trading chapters to each read aloud. I’ll never forget when we got to the last paragraph, closing the spiral bound manuscript in silence and a few tears.
“We did it, mama,” Gilly said giving me a hug.
Yep, we sure did.
I started small and won big. That’s why I write.
