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| "I never give in. I never give up. And I never take no for an answer." Doris Roberts, Actress 1925-April 17, 2016 |
There
are lots of ways to build strength in life: Eat right, exercise, get enough
sleep, be social, stay mentally active. That last category? We writers have that
covered in spades. After
all, challenging our mental acuity is our game. I like to think for reasons
beyond simply making an effort to stay healthy.
Tucked
into suggestions to challenge our gray matter by the Alzheimer's Organization, which lists such activities as attending
lectures and plays, playing games and working crossword puzzles, is writing.
With all that serious writing entails we writers must be way ahead of the game.
Subtle
Strengths Reaped from Being a Writer
1. Don't
talk about it--DO IT: How often have you had this conversation with someone who
wants to lose weight?-
Weight
Loss Challenger: I'm trying to lose weight.
- You: Good for you.
- Challenger: My goal is 15 lbs. but I don't know if I'll ever get there. I've tried every kind of diet and nothing works for me.
Too
often the person who talks about weight loss winds up in an endless
weight-loss-weight-gain cycle and doesn't reach her goal UNTIL she stops
talking about it. Only then can she get down to business and DO IT. It takes strength to drum up the necessary discipline.
I
use this example to illustrate the mistake I made as a beginner writer and the
mistake other beginners might make: I talked about what I planned to write,
even expounding on the details of the piece/story. Maybe I even started the
project . . . but never finished it. Why? Talking about what you're planning to
write can take the wind right out of your sails--it can rob you of the
energy you've put into coming up with your idea in the first place, so that
when it comes time to write, your enthusiasm is gone.
2. Now
that you've leaped over one of your initial hurdles, pouring out your heart and
keeping it between you and the page, you find that you soon enter THE ZONE--that
magical place any serious creator occupies while working, be it an athlete, a
musician, a homemaker who establishes a loving and pleasing environment--it
doesn't matter. The very act of creating will get you there. The world will
open up to you. You'll be in the candy shop, given carte blanche to pick any
kind of confection you want: cake, ice cream, cookies; or hey, anything made with
semi-sweet chocolate, my personal favorite (while being "strong" enough not to gain weight, mind you). You will begin to build or continue
to build on your knowledge and skills and explore any and all aspects of life
to your heart's desire. A writing friend once told me one of the benefits she
loves about writing is that you become an expert on many subjects and you carry
this knowledge with you for the rest of your life. There's a great deal of strength
in that.
3. Learning
your craft and sharpening your skills: This is a great accomplishment. You
literally transform yourself into the ranks of successful people who have
arrived at their success like you have, from their relentless efforts and hard
work. A likely trajectory to becoming an accomplished writer can go something like this:
- Write for your school newspaper beginning as early as possible; then become editor.
- Establish a place to write and a schedule so that you write regularly every day, if possible.
- Keep a journal. Come up with subjects that are important to you and think of ways you can write about them.
- Take courses, read "how-to" books, join writing organizations and attend workshops and conferences. Share your writing with other writers.
- Explore publication outlets online, at the library, with writing organizations you belong to. Find a publication(s) that would welcome what you have to say.
- Learn photography, a handy skill to accompany your writing.
- Learn how to speak in front of others.
- Network, see what other writers are doing and learn from them. We are a sharing group .We have been known to go to great lengths to help and promote our fellow writers.
Before you know it you will have found your niche and if you keep working at it you will eventually reach your goals. Once you've reached your goals you can flex those buff writing muscles you've developed to benefit yourself, your readers and those fortunate enough to come in contact with you.
Photo: Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org
