Writer, Know Thyself

Or How To Have A Career In Literature

There are things that will hold you back from writing.

But almost every one of those things is a manifestation of you.

Surprised? I’m afraid it’s all too true. When it comes to not writing, you’re to blame.

But don’t be too hard on yourself, you likely didn’t know.

Luckily …

I’ve kept myself from writing so much that I’ve discovered many of the ways that it can happen, and I’ll share them with you.

To understand how dangerous it is to keep yourself from writing, let me just point out that if you are in fact a writer, then the most dangerous thing you can do to yourself, the worst possible infliction of detriment you can manifest, is to refrain from writing.

Your very health is involved, and even more importantly, your epitaph is at risk of being incorrect.

Thus

In order to live the life you were meant to and be remembered for same, you need to circumvent your own lazy nature, put quill to parchment and scribe, forthwith if not sooner.

First let’s tackle the two big things that could keep you from writing, okay? Good.

The 1, 2 punch …

The first one is telling yourself you’re not a writer. Pick up a pen, and write down the words you use to tell yourself you’re not a writer. Look, you just wrote something. Now write out how it makes you feel to realize you wrote something. Now write something else. Now you are a writer. Keep going, write as if your life depended on it for in a very real way, it does.

The second one is telling yourself you are a writer, but not actually writing anything. Pick up a pen and write out the reasons you think you are a writer. Now write out why those reasons are suspect or how they are proven. When you’ve done that, write something else about yourself that is interesting. Now keep going, you were right, you are a writer.

Thrice is the charm

Number three is also a bit of a big one. It’s when you tell yourself you have more important things to do than write.

There is a short list of things that are more important than writing. It might be 20 items long at most.

Fix that!

Some of those things, breathing, humming, taking care not to defy gravity and float off the face of the earth to name three, can be done while you write, so they should not keep you from the task.

Others, such as watching the baby or baking bread for the evening repast can be modified to coincide with writing.

And yes, it is true that some should not be attempted while writing. I strongly advise that you avoid writing while partaking in the weekly shower and shave, for instance. Also, driving is difficult to do while writing, especially if a lot of research needs doing while you write. It can be quite difficult to hold pen and notebook, several reference tomes, the steering wheel and a cup of coffee all at once and manage any sort of readable output.

Four fifths of the way …

The fourth thing you could be guilty of which might be keeping you from writing is to be unaware that you are in fact a writer, possibly even a famous one (though, in truth, there have only been a few cases of people not knowing themselves to be famous writers, I can’t think of even one example off the top of my head, it is that rare).

If you actually are a writer but are unaware of it, you need to sit down and write out every reason you can conceive of for your having not recognized the fact.

Aha, caught you, writing again. Well, keep going, don’t let me stop you.

A fifth, for good measure

The last reason for not writing is a simple one, you may be illiterate. If this is the case, you might take it upon yourself to learn to read and write forthwith, leave not another moment fallow, take yourself directly to your nearest library and indicate to them your shortfall and they will joyously fall upon you and your lack of education immediately and rectify it with as much haste as they can muster.

You may then proceed with a career in writing with nothing to hold you back, having armed yourself with the preceding knowledge on how to write, once you are able.

If, however, you are quite illiterate, incapable of change, and still adamant in your  pursuit of employment in the literary industry, there is still some slim hope for you. Have you considered being a critic?