Here's a secret that I try not to spread around in real life.
I'm a writer.
I haven't had anything published. I haven't got a submission-ready manuscript. I've never completed a full 50k NaNoWriMo.
If I'm completely honest (and I have to be - No you don't - no, but I prob. should) - I haven't even finished a first draft.
*embarrassed because I know lots of you have*
So I kind of feel like I shouldn't call myself a writer. There are so many people better than me, published people, 120k-NaNo people, dedicated-daily-writer people, more-writerly-than-me people. How dare I call myself a writer?? Such arrogance for such an insignificant scribbler!
I have to stop doing this. I write; therefore, I am a writer.
People ask what I'm doing now I've finished school (side note: don't
questions about your plan for your future freak you out??). I tell them
I'm studying, and helping around the home. At which point my mother
steps in and says, "She writes."
(Thanks, Mum, now they want to know what I'm writing and if they can read it. Uhhhh....)
I have trouble saying it. But I am a writer. I write. I create people out of nothing, laugh with them and cry with them. (Yes, that last death's on me. Whoops, hahaha.) I meet with them several times a week (still working on 'daily'). I might not be talking to the same characters every day, but I'm just cycling through stories to find the one that fits me today. (Blocked? I have half a dozen other stories to work on.) I write.
And you - do you write? If you do - first draft or twelfth, short stories or novels or poetry, published or not, NaNo or not -
You are a writer.
Don't be ashamed to say so.
I can very much relate to this! I don't tell many people in real life that I'm a writer either. AND...saying flat out that I'm a writer is actually rather difficult for me, too. Because, honestly! I've never written a complete story in my life. Lots of ideas. Lots of scribbles. But no full story.
ReplyDeleteAnd about NaNoWriMo. Ha. I hear you. I tried that this past November but wrote less than 7,000 words. I wouldn't call it a complete failure because at least I wrote SOMETHING, but yeah. You're definitely not alone in the "never having completed a 50k NaNoWriMo." ;)
I'm a homeschool graduate, too!! *high five*
Well. Just wanted to say, welcome to the blogging world, Jem! :D
Yes - ideas, scribbles - and I've never finished anything longer than a short story! I find "I write" easier to say than "I'm a writer"... probably because I turn it into "I write... a bit... sometimes... nothing much! (definitely nothing you can see, so let's just move on...)"
DeleteYou wrote 7000? I wrote 4000.
*disgusted with myself*
(I'm trying Camp NaNo this April; I've adjusted the word count to 15k, which is closer to achievable for me.) It's very encouraging to know I'm not alone when I look at the "50k!" goals and just sort of laugh and wince. How people manage 100k+, I have NO IDEA. (maybe they're robots?)
*high fives back* There seems to be a real community of homeschool writers, if you get onto the right blog/Pinterest circles!
And thank you so much. Your welcome means a lot to me! :D
P.S. I love the little owlet! He's adorable! And you made him yourself? Wow. I'm impressed. :)
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