Monday, February 15, 2010

I am a writer

I am a writer. I am a writer right now in the broadest sense of the word. By that I mean that I know how to write, to make a sentence and form paragraphs. Barely.

There are steps to being a writer-

A- Write. To write you must put pen to paper or charcoal to shovel or pencil to paper bag. You must actually complete the act. Random paragraphs, love letters, beginning pages and happy endings get you close to being a real writer. Blogs and grocery lists, though technically written, don't count here.

2. You can't just think about writing, as in " Oh, I think I will write the Great All American Novel and make a Million Dollars". Too many stories, articles and Great All American Novels have been written inside heads. The trick is actually getting them to the outside world. See step A.

C. Not everyone can do it. Although most of us can write- our first grade teachers saw to that-
the Writer has to see what the rest of the population does not see. A writer needs a eye for detail. But no matter what the Writer sees, unless he writes it down- he is just an observer. See step A.
The reason I am writing this blog is that I have forgotten how to be a Writer.

I have not been a writer- I have been ( (shudder)) an observer.

I have been a thinker.

I have forgotten about step A.

And I am afraid that I won't ever be a writer again.

And I am not sure about what to do about it.

See Step A

4 comments:

Carolyn Plath said...

Why doesn't your blog count?

Maia said...

Honey,you are a writer. Trust me on this. You make your reader see, feel and understand what you write. I don't know what you want to write. Is it fiction, then be an observer. Pretend your mind is a film camera, see it, feel it, write it. Listen to how the people around you talk. Hear what they're saying and what's behind what they're saying. The motivation is really important. Oh yes, remember. Remember how things felt and write it down. You have everything it takes, just go for it.

Unknown said...

I know what you mean. My novel lingers, behind my blog, behind my chores, my motivation/discipline too thin to sustain it.

Here's to doing it, getting back the groove. Committing.

Write on.

Vaquerogirl said...

Thanks Breathe, you get it!