Just Write

If you love to write, or if you are a writer, or if you want to be a writer...you should read this

Number 22 is my favorite.

I always say to myself that I want to be a writer when I grow up.  That I would just love to make an impact on peoples lives.  I've been saying it now for years.

I think that I have finally realized that if I want to be a writer?  I need to actually write.  I might have the talent and the capability (and I might not, I'm willing to admit that as a possibility) but I'll never unlock that talent if I don't actually write.  No one is perfect right out the gate.

Last month, someone posted an amazing link in one of my G+ communities.  It was a link to the magic spreadsheet.  The idea behind the spreadsheet is that you have to write every day.  When you hit 250 words in the day--not too much, but enough to make you sit down in front of your computer or notebook and write--then you earn a point.  Points are cumulative, and you get more points if you write more.  If you miss a day, your chain resets to zero and you have to start all over again.

The goal is to teach you how to write every day.  Even on rough days when you're busy and stressed and frustrated, you can still bang out 250 words of something.  It doesn't matter if it's blog posts or poetry or fiction or non-fiction...all that matters is that you are creating something.  I'm on day 20, with over 20,000 words written.  That is just crazy...

So that is what I'm doing.  I'm blogging a lot--don't tell me you didn't notice--and trying to get through some creative writing.  While the blog posts might not be all that inspiring or beautiful, at least it is getting something out on paper.

Read those pieces of advice.  And then read them again.  And again.  Look at those pictures and absorb that advice until you can recite it in your sleep.  It's all good advice.  It's useful for every writer, not just the baby writers like me.

And you know what?  I am a writer.  Because I write.  I might not be a published writer, and I might never make a difference, but I am still a writer.