How to Become a Writer

Look, friend. It's a lot easier to become a writer than you think. I promise. I had it stuck in my head for years that if I didn't write something that I felt was worthy of being published, I wasn't a writer. That belief is the biggest lie ever. All that you have to do to become a writer is just that: write.

Find time in your day to write. Sit down at a desk, on a picnic blanket, or in your car during your lunch break.

Find a support system. Find people in your life who truly believe that you can achieve great things in your life through your writing. Let these people breathe into you and encourage you, even when you feel like you aren't getting anywhere. Because every single word that you write on paper, type, or dictate into the notes app on your phone is worth something.

Find something you are passionate about. It doesn't matter if it's bird watching, psychological thrillers, romance, politics, or your own life. Find something you are passionate about and write. Write until your fingers are about to fall off. Write until you lose track of time. You know that feeling. When time ceases to matter because the connection between your mind, your fingers, and a blank page morphs into one and you couldn't stop even if you wanted to.

Find a point of peace within yourself that enables you to write without fear of imperfection. Something is better than nothing, and done is better than perfect. There is absolutely no need for your first draft to be perfect, and if it is, I'm fairly confident that you are doing something wrong.

Find the confidence in yourself to write that first word, that first paragraph, that first novel. Do not let yourself be limited by your insecurities. Do not let your anxiety hold you back. Embrace that little part of you that always knew that you were going to be a writer, one way or another.

Find your pencil, pen, keyboard, or quill and ink and write. Write until the sun comes up. Write until the kids get home. Write until your lunch break is over. Write until your laptop dies. Write until you fill that journal up, and then buy another one. Because you and I, we're alike. And we must write.

So find the time, find the support system, find something you are passionate about, find that point of piece within yourself, find the confidence, and find your writing utensil and write. All you need is something to write with, your heart, your soul, and your mind. It's a portable craft. Take it with you wherever you go. Take your experiences and create more life through your words.

You have a story to tell. You have something that is uniquely special about you. You have experienced something that someone else is going through. Someone else needs to know that they are absolutely not alone.

It doesn't need to be perfect. It doesn't even need to be good. Nobody else even needs to see it for it to be considered art. You have something to contribute to the world, even if it is never seen by someone else.

You will get better the more you write. The more time you spend working with your craft, the better at it you will get.

Yes, this is a pep talk to myself, but I hope that you find some value in it.

This is my hope f0r you: that you will try. That you won't give up. That you will never cease creating. Because we need you and your art.