What Makes a Writer?

I will, probably, never be a traditionally published author. I am not looking to live off of my writing. My actual career is something that I love and am very good at. I will, however, defend to the death my right to be called a writer. Ever since I discovered what that could possibly mean, I have been a writer. And, I have to say, God Bless the Internet.

Writers Write

My first book was ‘published’ in kindergarten. I think it had something to do with rainbows. We wrote, drew pictures, bound them – the whole works. It was awesome.

I have gone through many stages, through the years, in my journey as a writer. Starting with a seventh-grade class assignment on metaphors and similes, I wrote a lot of poetry. By the time I was seventeen, I was writing ‘songs’ that were essentially extended poetry that followed the conventions of a song (and I could hear to music in my head). 1997 and the discovery of the internet turned my writing up to the next notch. (Yes, I am that old…)

I knew essentially nothing about plotting or writing a story, but boy, did I have tons of them to tell. I loved the communities I found, and responding to the media that we were seeing. Yes, I wrote fan fiction. If you are interested, I won’t deny it, but you’ll have to discover it on your own. I love writing. In addition to the stories I shared, I had a little folder tucked among those fandoms, labeled ‘Original Fiction,’ that I didn’t share with anyone else.

I kept writing and learning and trying to “get through this thing called “‘life.” I never stopped writing, never stopped dreaming. I didn’t share as much of my writing with others when life got crazy, but through it all, I always had my stories.

Creators Create

Now, I am thinking about sharing them with a bigger audience, of putting a little part of myself out there tangibly. I am writing with purpose now. It’s still about expression, but I am also thinking of having an audience and putting myself out there in a way that reminds me of those old mailing lists and forums.

That’s why I am planning to self-publish once again. I have stories to share.