I’ve heard several people saying the same thing in the past week.
“I want to be a writer,” they say, either wistfully or with a starry gleam in their eyes. I am a writer, of course, so a few of them have presented this statement to me in a tone of respect or adoration.
Because of this overwhelming interest in my craft, I decided I should write a post about bridging that gap between what you want to become and how to become it. After all, moving into a new title, especially one as respected as writer, can be pretty intimidating!
I spent some time thinking about how to present it. After all, this was to be a blog entry that could help set people on a new path, push them into a new career, change their lives forever. It would need to be clear and concise, breaking down everything it takes to be a writer and presenting it in an easy-to-digest fashion.
That’s why I decided to go with the step-by-step approach. Numbered steps make everything easy to absorb.
So without further ado, here it is: How you, or someone you know, can become a writer.
Step One: Write Something
Go ahead. Take a minute and write something. Write a bit about your day, or write a few paragraphs that tell a story, or write a few lines of a poem. Once you’re done, come back to finish reading the rest of this post.
All done?
Excellent! And more importantly, congratulations! You’ve just become a writer!
Yes, it really is that simple.
You see, the thing is, there’s only one real requirement to becoming a writer – You have to write something. As soon as you do, you’ve taken the only steps needed to fulfill your dream and make it a reality.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve had your work published or not. It doesn’t even matter if you’ve finished something. If you write, you are a writer.
Too often we talk ourselves down, belittling the amazing thing that we do. But if you write, you have already become a writer. Finishing something will never happen if you don’t write. Publishing something will never happen if you don’t finish something, first. With that in mind, why should embracing the career be a difficult thing? If you draw in your free time, you are an artist. If you know how to play piano, you are a musician.
Our culture has driven us to think that you cannot embrace what you are if it isn’t what pays the bills. That’s just silly – I am a writer in the same way I’m a human being, or the same way that I’m a woman. I don’t have to call myself a professional female for people to recognize that it’s a part of who I am. But your career and what you actually are are two very different, very separate things.
So if being a writer is something you’ve always aspired to, what’s stopping you? Do it. Take the plunge, and embrace the title you’ve earned.