Tuesday, September 15, 2009

i write. i am a writer.


I’ve been pretty quiet on the blogging front lately – but with good reason. As I have alluded to, I have made a big decision this past week. Nothing that really concerns anyone else, so I think I will continue to keep it locked up for now, but I will let you in on a bit of my thought process lately…

Late last week I read this quote, and immediately jotted it down in my quote notebook:

“No one likes to write but everyone likes to have written.”~Joel Salzman

I consider myself a writer. It has taken me a long time to be able to claim that title.

In college we were all writers – I found myself surrounded by talented people – me and the rest of the English department. We all could write, wanted to write, did write. We wrote for a degree. We wrote for workshops and occasionally we wrote for fun. Those were the days when the juices were flowing, where I’d keep scraps of paper with ideas for future stories and poetry and papers.

But those days came to a close in May 2006 when I finally walked that big stage and got my diploma. After that I was lucky to take five minutes to write in my journal each evening.

And then I became a professional writer. Sounds glamorous {it's really not} and when people ask what I do for a living, no matter how I put it, I get that all too familiar glazed over look.

I work at a marketing firm as a copy writer.

I work at a marketing firm as a content specialist

I work at a marketing firm as writer

I am a copy writer

I am a writer

No matter how I phrase it, I still get glassy eyes and teethy smiles. “Oh, how interesting,” they respond. And I feel foolish and question my capability with words.

But little by little, although the responses have been the same {and I’ve got more evidence from Sunday to prove it} the fact remains and my confidence builds.

I am a writer.

I may not have my choice in what I write, but I write, and people pay me to do it and I am pretty good at it {if I do say so myself}

Which leads me to my reason for telling you this…

I spend my days writing for clients – hours and hours of writing…I write about hotels and travel and insurance and banking and everything in between, but although it pays well, it is less than satisfying to my creative writing self. So when I read that quote the other day, I thought to myself…after days of writing for clients, I think it’s time I started writing for myself again.

So what does this mean? I’m not really sure. I have some ideas, but what I do know is that I don’t want to reach the end of my days wishing I would have written. in my style, my tone, in my words.

So I will muster the courage to open a blank word document and I will write.

And I will make it a priority to hold onto my voice amidst all the other voices that have too easily become my inspiration.

And I will follow where the words take me…and I will write.

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