With a clear conscious, I can promise that desire had little to do with the conception of this post. If my desires dictated when this would be written, I would put it off a few more days.
Fortunately, my will, and not my feelings, determine my actions as a writer.
People often say becoming a parent teaches you a lot about yourself and about life. For me, it’s also taught me how to be a better writer.
These five lessons have stayed with me, and crossed over to my life as a writer…
I don’t want to be a writer anymore. Why should I bleed on paper just for some editor’s red pen to bleed all over it? My ideas aren’t that good and no one ever reads my work. No publisher’s ever going to like it. Besides, it’s giving me tendinitis. No, I’m done with writing. I’m going to find a career with a steady income and consistent job description.
A fellow writer tweeted that she deleted 16 pages because she didn’t like the direction her novel was headed. You could hear the sense of accomplishment in her words. My heart stopped (ok, not literally).
In a few months I’m releasing my first book, a memoir titled Packing Light: Thoughts on Living Life with Less Baggage. One of the difficulties I encountered while writing was: how am I supposed to tell my story in an honest way, while still protecting the people and relationships involved?
I don’t think I’m alone in this dilemma.
You have a story you’re afraid to write.
You know the one I’m talking about. The big one. The dangerous one. The one you’ve been putting off. The one you just don’t have time for.
