So, You Want to Be a Writer

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As a daydreamer, my child self loved writing. The ability to get these stories out of my head and onto the paper in front of me was fascinating. As far back as elementary school, my teachers would rave about how much they loved my enthusiasm for reading and writing.

By my teen years, writing had become focused on poetry and song lyrics as well as journaling. It wasn’t until my early to mid-20s that I would start writing for the world to see through a blog. Though let’s be real, no one was actually seeing it.

Sometime later, I read about making money with blogging, and I didn’t understand the concept one iota. What I read and did understand caused me to move my writing to WordPress. This being a larger platform helped me to get regular readers. I also started sharing links on social media, allowing my loved ones to see what I was doing.

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After some time of blogging off and on, I joined NaNoWriMo in 2013. For those of you who have no idea what NaNoWriMo is, it’s an acronym that stands for National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is a yearly contest that runs through November. People sign up with a universal goal to write 50,000 words in those 30 days (more if they want to further challenge themselves).

At the time, I was branching out to art forms I hadn’t tried before. So, this was right up my alley. I didn’t have high hopes that I’d succeed. But the community was great to experience, and I got to recall what it feels like to get lost in the creation of a story.

Getting lost in the story pushed me to continue writing every single day for those 30 days, even when I REALLY didn’t feel up to it. Towards the end, seeing there was a reward — a discount on some good writing software — pushed me even more towards that goal I never thought I’d accomplish.

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I pulled it out again a handful of times. I’d try editing it, inevitably get discouraged, and put it away again. However, I had started taking my online writing more seriously and taking a deeper look at everything I had been reading.

How did they sound? What kind of titles were they using? How personal were they getting? But more than any of those, what is it I like most about this post? What keeps me reading?

Like everything else in my life, I pulled bits and pieces of knowledge from everywhere. I tried many different techniques and honed my craft to the best of my ability. I never felt I was a “real” writer, though. That is until one holiday gathering, a relative told me she had been reading my work and expressed how talented she thought I was.

To this very day, her words and energy stick with me, “Keep writing!” They continue pushing me forward.

As a writer, especially one who openly expresses their vulnerabilities, it’s very much a twofold experience. You’re terrified of people you know reading your works, but when they do and send you praise, it eradicates the terror a little bit. Each time, it eradicates a little bit more, allowing you to freely write in confidence.

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That being said, what I want you to gain from this story is some wisdom. So, here’s a breakdown of what I’ve learned throughout my writing journey:

Trust your instincts (let the inner “ knowing” guide your journey) — If this is something you struggle with, I recommend setting aside a small window of alone time for yourself daily. This time should be spent in some form of meditative self-reflection. Journaling is a great tool for this.

Continue learning and honing your writing skills (but don’t overdo it) — I.E. do not put off writing until you’ve “learned enough.” You will never reach that point. Learn as you go.

I can’t stress this one enough; BE YOURSELF (use your own voice in your writing) — Sure, take inspiration from wherever you’d like, but having your own voice within your writing will help you stand out from the pack.

Hang on to positive feedback. Negative criticism has never been beneficial for me. But when someone expresses their love of my work, it makes me want to do even better.

When starting out, don’t give a fuck about niche or audience. You’ll find those along the way. I say this as someone who let niche set me back far too many times.

Write for yourself. If you don’t like what you produce, it isn’t worth it. Musicians often write the music they want to write and not what people want to hear. And some of the best writers write what they want to, and if people like it, then that’s great! You’ll have much more to offer this way.

Write for someone you love. This is beneficial when you feel stuck on what topic to write about. Think about the people in your life. What might they need help with? Write to them. — But don’t name them. That’d be a little weird.

In the words of Dory from Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming.” Whatever you do, don’t stop writing. I’m not saying no matter what happens you need to post to the world. What I mean is to write regularly, anywhere, about anything. It doesn’t matter what it is or where it is. Just write. You won’t realize it’s honing your craft, but I promise you it is.

A couple of runner-up tips:

Don’t get caught up in the fear of AI ruining writing careers. Could it happen? I mean, yeah sure. I’m highly open-minded. I believe ANYTHING could happen. The truth is writers will always have a career in writing. This is something coming in a future story.

There is no actual formula to reach writing success. You will see many writers online telling you what it takes to succeed, including but not limited to engaging titles, making a numbered list as part of your post (and putting that number in your title), making sure your grammar is perfect, understanding SEO and tags and google rankings, knowing your audience, picking a niche and staying in it, and so on and so forth. Ignore ALL that horse shit unless it fits what you want at that moment. These are not all wrong, not by a long shot, but they are not always right either. There are several Medium stories, for example, in which the writer has no idea why their story went viral. And they have no idea how to replicate it. Because you can’t. You can’t ever know for certain what’s going to get the most engagement. Stop trying so hard, and trust the process.

Okay, I’m done I swear. I gotta wrap this up super fast, because IF you’re still here you’ve wasted like a whole hour of your life, and I am sorry for that. Long-winded writers, what can I say?

Are there others out there that do this? If so, please for the love of all the things, tell me who so I can find my tribe.

If you want to be a writer, then write. Put yourself out there. Be vulnerable and open to learning from mistakes. You just might surprise yourself.

Much love. Until next time.

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