I want to pose this question to you today. What is stopping you from writing? There are times in our lives, and this has
happened to me, where I have feared putting pen to paper or fingers to
keyboard. Yet, I have learned that the
more I write, the more I am able to write, if that makes sense.
Going back between 1999 [when I first started
writing seriously] and 2009, I was a prolific writer. I’ve always written but it was after
attending a nurses’ twenty year reunion in May of 1999, I really went for it. They were such an inspiring group of people,
some whom I’d kept in touch with for years, others I hadn’t seen since 1982,
but that night lit a flame for me. I went home and wrote a short story entitled ‘The
Reunion’ based on that night.
I typed it up and submitted it to Woman’s
Realm. I only had an electric typewriter
back then although soon I had a computer and went on line and it changed my
world. That short story was rejected but
I received a handwritten message from the editor which I still have somewhere
which said, ‘I am SO sorry we don’t accept unsolicited stories. Good luck!’
I didn’t even know what unsolicited meant back then. Although it was a rejection, somehow it gave
me hope. I read into that message,
rightly or wrongly, that she liked the story and it might be worth submitting
elsewhere. So I thought the best thing
to do might be to mix with other writers and learn more.
I joined a writing group that was run by a tutor
from Cardiff University, this was at Dowlais library. And whilst I imagined the members would be
men in dickie bows who liked nothing better than to smoke cigars and sport monocles;
and women in their satin dressing gowns who reclined on chaise lounges like
Barbara Cartland, they were nothing of the sort. They were just every day folk who had a
talent for writing and I learned so much from them.
Once I started going to the group every Tuesday
afternoon, which was held in the basement of Dowlais library, there was no
holding me back. We were given writing
exercises and expected to return with a short story, poem or essay by the
following Tuesday, and I always did! The
thought of showing up the following week not having anything to read out to the
group, mortified me. Often though, I
would scribble something down quickly before I left the house or in a café in
town before taking the bus to Dowlais.
Yet, the funny thing was, those off-the-cuff pieces were often my best
work.
Since then I’ve hardly stopped writing, even though
I no longer attend the group. I’ve
written short stories, articles, poems and novels. I’ve even had work published in magazines, on
websites and at publishing houses. I’ve
written during breaks at work, on buses, trains, waiting rooms, park benches,
etc.
I am a big believer in the fact that if you want to
write you will. Nothing or no one will
stop you.
Something highly traumatic happened to me during
August of 2009. I had just completed the
first year of my Open University Diploma in Literature and Creative
Writing. I could have given it up the way
I felt as my world crumbled. It was if
someone had stepped into my life and thrown a grenade. Nothing made sense to me any longer.
I am convinced that keeping a daily journal
of my thoughts and feelings kept me sane and focused. It also stopped me from getting badly depressed. I had little sleep and would wake maybe at 5
am and sometimes would cry as soon as I opened my eyes. My routine was to keep my journal by the bed
to record my inner thoughts and feelings.
Putting pen to paper was so cathartic.
Often I’d transfer the words to my blog next day but after a while I
removed them. They still exist in draft
form and could form the basis of some sort of self help book for other women
who were devastated in the same way I was over a relationship breakdown.
I decided the best thing I could do for myself was to
sign up for the second year with the Open University even though it was costly,
but it was the best thing I ever did as I still had to produce short stories
and poems. In fact, it was during that awful time that I
wrote some of my best work as the emotion I was feeling poured out into my stories
and poems. The only thing I had problems
with was novel writing back then. I set a couple of half started novels to one
side. Although now I am back into the
swing of things.
What I’m saying to you is that unless you are really
ill, depressed or suffering from some sort of trauma, there is no excuse not to
write. Although even then as in my case
it could actually help you to write through those times! In fact, to be honest you are probably making
some sort of excuse not to write in your life right now.
Often, I think it’s fear that holds back a
writer. Fear of not being able to
produce something, fear of not finishing something and fear it’s no good.
Fear is the enemy, acceptance is the key.
Accept that you might write rubbish to begin
with. You can always rewrite that
rubbish but no one can fix a blank page.
Keep a journal of daily thoughts, memories and
activities that might get you back into the swing of writing.
Please don’t tell me you don’t have the time to
write. That’s rubbish and you know
it. So often people say that. If you really want to write you will. It might mean making sacrifices during your
busy day, like getting up an hour earlier, staying up later, recording your
favourite television programme, etc.
It’s
very rare that no one has time to write anything! I might forgive if you if you are the Old
Woman Who Lives in a Shoe though! Not if
you’re an everyday person who has time to watch television, dwindle away hours
on Facebook or spend time doing other things.
So, what’s stopping you? Pick up that pen and write or place fingers
on keyboard and start today. You’ll be
amazed what you can achieve because even if you don’t feel like writing to
begin with, once you get into the flow you will want to keep writing.
It’s all about how much writing means to you. You need that burning passion that’s as
important to you as the air that you breathe.
Do you have it or not? Because if
you don’t, you aren’t a writer, you are someone who likes to think they could
be a writer without the blood, sweat and tears. And as we all know, without pain there is no
gain…
