It seems like everyone has a story to tell. I did, though I didn’t know it at the time. Maybe you do, and you’re trying to figure out how to get started.

Maybe you don’t, but you’ve read some books and thought, “Gee, I could do as good or better.”

But where do you start? Can you overcome the mountain of a task that is writing hundreds of pages of captivating story? I believe you can. I did, and if I can do it, so can you.

After all, who is holding you back?

What if You’re Starting Fresh As a Writer?

You mean to tell me, that you’ve never written an essay in school? Never filled out a book report? Never had to find a creative way to fill up a page in answer a teacher’s question?

For a good chunk of the population, we’ve done some writing. If you’re also like me, you might not understand grammar all that well. Guess what—that’s okay.

I tend to struggle with Mad Libs, because I have to keep looking up what all the grammar requests are that they ask me for. No, I write what sounds right to me. For a lot of us, that is our voice. It’s what we hear and speak. You don’t have to be an English major to be a writer.

I guess there’s technical writing, which, to me is a totally separate subject, the likes of which I know very little about. But even then, have you ever read some of the technical writings on stuff that came out of China? I’m pretty sure a lot of that grammar is wrong, and they still got a career writing copy for their merchandise.

Anyhow, Lets start by saying, yes, you can be writer. The real trick is devoting some time to actually write.

What to Write About

Well, what do you like to read? What entertains you? What do you already know about? To be 

honest, do I know anything about cloning and 3d printing a human body?

No, but I wrote a book about it. But I thought you were supposed to write what you know?

Ok, what do I know? I like science fiction books. I’m entertained by authors such as James Rollins, who takes scientific concepts and turns them into international action/thriller novels. I also like reading books by authors such as Terry Pratchett, who’s characters live on a flat world, that is balanced on the back of giant elephants, who are standing on the shell of a turtle that swims through space.

No way can any author know about some of this stuff, because it doesn’t exist, or so we think. But we know or at least have a feel for how these books should read. We know these types of books, and that knowledge can give our stories a sort of structure. We can get a feel for how to tell a story of our own.

That is what I mean by writing what you know. I’m not much of a historian, so if I was to write a non-fiction about George Washington, I might struggle. Then again, I’ve read a lot of biographies, and I know how they should sound, so I could actually devote a lot of time into researching the subject, then I’d be qualified to write something on the person.

That’s another way of writing what you know.

What you won’t likely find me writing though, are romance novels. I don’t tend to read them, and I have very little desire to try. Even though they can be quite profitable, I don’t know them, I don’t have a desire to research them. I will never know them.

When Can You Call Yourself A Writer?

Do you have to be published to call yourself a writer? No. Do you have to write, to call yourself a writer? Duh!

Does a carpenter have to sell his/her works to call themselves a carpenter? No. They can have a hobby shop in their garage, and turn out beautiful, or ugly works of wood for their own pleasure, and still call themselves a carpenter.

Just because you’re an amateur writer, doesn’t mean that you aren’t a writer. If you need to get published to justify your title, then, fine, I don’t care. You can define yourself as you wish. But if I know that you’ve written something, or are in the process of writing something, I’m going to call you a writer.

I’ve read plenty of books by published writers who really did a terrible job. I don’t know how they got published in the first place. Your book might be better than theirs, and will never see the light of day. It doesn’t matter.

Why Write?

Why does it even matter? I can only answer this for me. You’ll have to decide for yourself, but when I started writing, I wanted to make an extra income. My first several books never made back the costs of writing them. I’m not surprised either.

So why keep at it? Why do I still insist on being a writer? It’s not because it’s easy, or a path to wealth. I sure haven’t seen anything like that in my experience so far.

No, I write, because I love it. It’s an addiction. It’s a hard challenge. It never gets easier. When you think you’ve got it all figured out, you start your next book, and realize that you have to still stretch to figure it out.

I love that stretching. I get so bored with easy repetitive tasks. Writing may seem repetitive, and some aspects of it are, but the creative process to fleshing out a story, and making it compelling are so incredibly satisfying, that I can’t stop writing. Even if I never got published, I think I’d still find myself writing and telling stories, even if it was only to share with my own family. I can only consume so much that was made by others before I have to make something of my own.

The act of creation is its own reward. Having said that though, what is art if that art is not shared? I think you can make art for arts sake. But for it to be truly rewarding, is to have it enjoyed by others.

Why do YOU really want to write? And is it enough for YOU to do it?

Do You Need Help?

There are so many resources out there to help you on your creative journey. If you find yourself stuck, because you’re afraid of failure, or afraid of what those closest to you will think about your venture, then read THE ARTISTS WAY by Julia Cameron.

In her book, she’ll help you realized the spiritual depth of your own creativity. Whether you believe in God or not, she asks you to believe in a higher power, a divine power, one that is a creator, and who made you after His image. If the ultimate creator of everything in existence made you, then aren’t you entitled to be creative as well…

Along your journey, getting the courage and motivation to start is all you need to find yourself on the addictive path of telling stories. It can be written, oral, visual, or other, but I warn you, once you start, you’ll discover a path of continual education, exploration, and adventure.

Good luck. If you have any questions, comment on my YouTube channel, where I’ve made a companion piece to this article. If I can, I’ll do my best to answer you, or maybe we can build a community together that will help answer you.

Check out the YouTube content for this article at: https://youtu.be/gUs5u3fDP6Q