Jenna's post When are you a writer? really got me thinking. For most of my life my desire to write was a secret. I had always thought up stories, but they never made it out of my head. I wouldn't even have considered myself a writer because I never wrote anything down, nor would I have said I was a storyteller because that would require telling people my stories. I was more of a daydreamer I suppose. I always had stories in my head, they've been with me my whole life.
I was always afraid of saying that I wanted to be a writer because I was afraid that I actually couldn't write. I mean, my stories are fantastic in my head, but what if they wilt or fall flat when they come outside? Then things started to change for me. The idea of not writing became more horrible than the idea of writing badly. There are some not so good writers out there, and they are published!
Then there is this whole notion of self publishing. Once I realized that I could do that, well then there's absolutely no reason not to let my stories out. I think I was hung up on the idea that if I went through all the trouble of writing a story there was a really good chance no one would read it. Throw in the whole lottery of being picked up by a publishing house, it really is bleak. That is no longer part of the equation. I am free to tell the story I want to tell the best that I can. There still is a chance that no one will read it, but I know that I will have done everything I can do to get it out there.
Am I a writer? Yes. I am on the journey of telling my stories, one I suppose I've been on all my life. I just couldn't see it that way. I have so many stories to tell. I can see now that I am definitely on the storyteller's road putting one foot in front of the other. =)
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