It always surprises me when someone says, "I love to write, but I'm not a writer."
Or, "I'm a great storyteller, but I'm not a writer. "
This statement begs the question: "Are you kidding me?!"
We should all be so lucky or blessed to be able to be able to retell glorious stories from our experiences or our pasts! Half the time, I can't remember what happened this morning!
I was reading the bio of a man on Twitter the other day. In his bio, he said he was a storyteller but not quite a writer. I had to tweet back and tell him that in my book, he is a writer indeed. Stories don't come from nowhere, they start in our minds and hearts.
The storyteller is the best kind of writer of all...he's already painting pictures with his words. If he needs a secretary to sit down and type what he says, so be it, but wouldn't you love to be a writer like him? A storyteller sees things in his mind and weaves them into wonderful memories for others to hold onto or share.
I think most of us are too hung up on the publishing aspect of writing. Yes, it's nice to be published and make money. And yes, for some of us it's a goal. But I get pleasure from writing just for you. I revel in the power or playfulness of words. I wallow in the love of language and joy of writing as a basic form of communication.
How about you? Are you a writer? What are your goals? Do you put too much pressure on yourself and your children? Is writing fun for you or is it a job? Think about it and get back to me. I LOVE TO READ WHAT YOU WRITE!
P.S. I just received my first small check today for my google adsense ads. Small is the key word here. At any rate, thanks to all of you who took a minute to look at the ads that were relevant to you...I truly appreciate the time you took.
8 comments:
Hello! :)
This is very interesting Jan. I am not a writer, I don't even think I am a good storyteller. I do enjoy sharing experiences in my life by writing them on my blog, or possibly in an email to a special friend. I think I do put too much pressure on myself, when it comes to my blog, which I think is why I haven't been blogging as often. I think that could be because I write from my heart, and if it isn't there, then it just isn't there.
I never thought of it that way. I've never considered myself a writer, in fact English was on of the subjects I disliked the most in school (and ...clearing my throat the one I cut the most with a certain writer...who shall remain nameless!). However, I blog.........all the time. I currently have 4 blogs, before these 4 I've blogged elsewhere (does typing words on the computer with spelling and grammar errors count?) If so...maybe I am?
I'm sooooooo bad, I often want to say something and have a good word but can't think how to spell it and so substitute a word I can spell..that probably makes the writing of less quality?
You weave your words, I weave yarn into something; our process is similar. Except right now I've not been doing much of that either. Sunshine outside calls me, and I hear the weeds calling my name....lol
I WANT to be a writer. But at the moment, with all my other commitments, I don't feel I put enough effort into it to tell people that I actually AM a writer.
Am I a writer? No.
Am I a storyteller? That's debatable I guess, since I consider myself to be more of a "talker" than an actual storyteller. I've been told I write just like I talk, and I guess it's true.
When I'm in the " blog groove", I tend to close my eyes, talk out loud to myself and just let my fingers fly on the keyboard.
And occasionally, (okay, more than occasionally) I get so wrapped up in the moment, that I just quickly press "publish" and then wonder where all the spelling mistakes came from. ;-)
I sure wish I were a writer, though!
Interesting blog. I started blogging about birds and some 200 posts later, having expanded into other subjects, I've come to realize it's the storytelling through writing that keeps me going. I love doing it.
I am a writer. I say that now but over a year ago I wouldn't have considered myself a writer or a good story teller. Now, how good, that's another story!
I think this issue lies in 'credentials'. People are very impressed in our culture when someone has a degree or higher education. I think people don't say they're writers because they haven't been published. Often that's the second question "Have you been published?" My answer to that is "not yet" but you can see that you have to take my word for it because I don't have the credentials to back it up.
I found your blog through a posted comment on troutbirders. I had to take a peek when I saw that you were a writer.
For years I was a closet writer - didn't want anyone to see what I had wrote. That is until I discovered blogging. I've done a 180 degree spin now. All of a sudden I'm an exhibitionist writer.
I like this post and what you had to say. I look forward to going back through your older posts. RAE
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