Oh, to Be a Writer
What being a writer really means.
by Rachel Toadvine
Today, you may be sitting at your table or on your porch, tea or coffee or phone in hand, thinking about some grand story idea that would be perfect if only someone would write it. Or, your first thought is that you can write it, but you wonder how it would even be possible. You have a story that people should hear, that would impact lives, or that would simply be fun to write, but how does it go from your brain to the hands of others in the form of a book?
If you’re like me, you’ve written many short stories and started-but-never-completed novel ideas. Maybe you even have a running note on your phone that has fragments of observations that you told yourself you’d revisit to expand upon but never have. If you’re even more like me, you begin a story and while you’re on fire with writing, all of a sudden that nagging little voice that reminds you that you’ve yet to complete a novel, let alone be published, gets shouting-loud, and you begin to doubt yourself.
Oh, to be a writer.
Because, even if you’ve never finished a novel or been published, that is what you are: a writer. You have the pull towards words, the draw to get observations and emotions on paper, the feeling that how you choose to string a story together can matter to someone, someday. I’m here today to remind you—and myself—that to be a writer is to simply write, and I encourage you to do just that.
I’m not talking about finding the top 100 writing prompts, choosing one, and getting to work on a forced plot (however, this can be a fantastic writing exercise to get your creativity working…my students love it). I mean for you to keep a journal and write whatever it is you see—the blooming hydrangeas, the way your best friend smiles over coffee, a detailed outline of your morning routine. The more you observe, the more you’ll have to write about, and the more you write, the more encouraged you’ll be by your own progress.
I remember in college, I had the same creative writing professor three years in a row. From sophomore to senior year, she saw the best and worst of my poetry (and the worst was bad). But in my final workshop review in my senior year, she told me how much growth she had seen in my writing. My creativity was stretched, my ability to frame a story into a poem was strengthened, and my confidence soared. I became a bolder writer, not afraid to try new forms. I was proud of my work.
I often long for the days I was required to set aside time each week to write and work that muscle. It’s become more difficult to carve out that time, but it is so rewarding when I do. So if you’re anything like me—a writer with little time to write and maybe a lack of self-encouragement—I pray you find some relatability in my words today. More so, I hope you are more inclined to go grab your journal or laptop or notes app and simply begin with observing. From there, who knows? Maybe I’ll see your novel on a shelf one day soon.
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“Honor the world by observing it truly and writing about it with humility.”
Walter Wangerin, Jr., Beate Not the Poore Desk
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Thank you for the post. I think this is one of the hardest things for people: giving oneself permission to take the title, the vocation of writer when there are no published fruits yet. In the years since the urge to write got louder and louder inside me, it has helped to put aside time for classes online, having an ongoing project, and then sending some of those projects out into the world. (It feels like the void most days.) I don’t have anything published yet, but I remind myself from time to time that I am a writer, not a publisher. My job is to write and what will be will be.
So true - thank you for sharing. The longer I write, the more I think the act of writing is a habit, and the more I need reminding of that simple fact.