Some unedited thoughts:
I’ve realized how easy it is as a writer to draw into yourself completely, to shut out the world and retreat into your little lonely space. Sometimes this is necessary to get crap done. Actually, a lot of times it is necessary.
But it is also a danger to stay there. I’m starting to learn how important community is. Like, really, really important. How support from like-minded people can help you reach your full potential.
No one tells you how to become a writer. You just are. You are a writer if you write. There is talent. There is hard work. Then there’s that secret, elusive element of “the path.” But this path can never be navigated alone.
I’m pretty sure I keep trying though. And then I keep running into walls, and falling down cliffs, into really dark uncomfortable spaces, where I don’t know how to move forward.
The writer’s life is a lonely life. You are inside your own mind a lot of the time. Because that’s your job. You use your brain and you pump out creativity and ideas into sentences. Words are your translation. But words are finicky and frustrating and it’s so easy to get lost on the page.
So here’s my advice: find a coach, a mentor, a writing group. People of the same career path, but of a different experience. These people will become essential to the path. They will be your antennae, your GPS. You don’t even need a lot of them. Maybe two or three, as long as they are constant.
**beep** **beep** **bloop** **just checking in…** **turn here** **have a beer** **don’t cry** **pull yourself together** **I’m here**
Graffiti Eyes 