Greetings;
I recently critiqued two blossoming memoir writers, and was assured by both the man and the woman, “I’m not a writer.” When I was shown their books, both were over two-hundred pages long. That is a lot of writing for one, who isn’t a writer. What is it about the word, writer, which intimidates people?
When I thought more about it, I realized the word, itself, is probably considered a profession, but not so. Writing is a process. If a person is a teacher or a nurse, it is obvious to all that years of education ensued to earn the title. To be considered a writer, however, one must begin by simply writing. One young person noted, “My computer’s broken, so I can’t write.” What? Is it possible the young, computer generation is no longer of a mindset to connect pencil or pen to paper to create?
Some of the greatest writing was created while the writer was imprisoned, either in body like St. Paul or the Holocaust survivors, or in mind, the isolation Earnest Hemingway chose, as many great authors do, to purposely segregate their senses from the world’s pressures and people in order to create. A small part of their writing success was the simple fact they were alone–no children to care for, no interruptions, and no on-the-job stresses, but survival isn’t enough; there has to be a reason to survive. Writing about the why, where, and how, whether as a catharsis, to teach a lesson about surviving humanity’s everyday traumas, or to create stories of joy and hope, the end product is the same—a creative message.
I never under-estimate the power of a person’s creative mind, and have assured each man and woman, who has bravely brought a manuscript to me to be critiqued, “You are a writer.” It is a great beginning. The culmination of taking myriad writing classes to improve, to join with other writers to learn, and to journey forward is to one day earn the privilege of saying, “I am an author.”
Until next time, remember, when alone, one can fill in the empty spaces of life by writing about good and sad memories. Releasing feelings to paper will keep your mind from closing down. Be well. Linda