On Being a Writer: Overcoming Doubt and Getting Started
It’s odd that many of us who are accomplished in various fields do not consider ourselves authoritative enough to discuss our work or how we do it. We might consider ourselves hobbyists, but we never take ourselves seriously as professional writers or as people who could be professional writers.
We all have things we want to share with the world: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays, the list goes on. Maybe we want to share a little bit of all of it. Maybe we want to write a little of this and a little of that. Or perhaps we want to try our hands at things we are uncomfortable with, like writing poetry to help our word choice for our fiction or nonfiction work.
I sometimes feel that we must qualify ourselves, such as getting an M.F.A. or Ph.D. in literature, to be able to say we might be something or someone (but even then, the doubt still arises). We don’t. Our life is our qualification. Whatever your background or accomplishments are (or are not), you are and can still be a writer. There is no age limit or time limit. There may be a learning curve, but that’s fun and part of the journey if you want to write.
Talking basics here, what is the best way to get started? For me, nonfiction was the door that opened everything else to me. Each of us has personal stories, family stories, that we remember and can share. If you’re kicking the can thinking about writing a great novel, why not start with something more manageable? Tell a simple story based upon the elements of everything you already know: your personal history or a family story that was told to you. Include how that incident affected you or how you view it. I’m a big fan of the memoir. You’ve got one in you because you’ve lived it. A memoir is simply a story of your perspective on happenings that have affected and directed your life. You already know the story. Practice by writing it down and making it interesting for others to read. Who knows? You may end up writing an 80,000-word memoir that you eventually publish. At the very least, you’ve written down a wonderful memory that you can share with others or, even better, as we grow older and tend to forget, that we can share again with ourselves. Nothing is lost. No time is wasted.
So, if you’re stuck, scared, in denial, or have totally negative-psyched yourself out as a writer, if you feel you’re being afflicted by that dreaded writer’s block, don’t begin by tackling the big stuff. Literally, in this case, write what you know. Write a story about yourself. Don’t think you need to publish it even. Just write. For those of you wanting to get started at writing, this is easy. The plot is already laid out. The characters are already premade. All you must do is practice telling the story. As they say, from an acorn comes an oak tree. One year from now, using this strategy, you may be surprised at the size your little sapling has grown.
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