How Badly Do You Want It?

As a writer I’m sure when someone introduces you as a writer you’ve heard people say, “I could write a write book.”

But do they ever follow through? Maybe a first paragraph, but it’s a lot harder than people think.

Non-writers make excuses. Writers write.

When did you decide to write? How badly do you want it? What will you give up for it?

I always wrote starting in elementary school. I wrote paragraphs, descriptions, plots, you name it.

But while I’d jot down a scene I went into nursing, worked in nursing, married and started a family. I was still jotting down notes about characters, scenes, whatever. I went back to university, moved divorced and remarried. I still wasn’t a writer. I didn’t even know what I wanted to write.

When I finally made the decision, I loved the romantic suspense genre and I read writing romance was easy, so I decided to give it a try. I went to a Road to Romance conference in Calgary, attended work shops, learned about RWA and decided to be a writer. My first step was to buy a computer and learn to use it. (That’s another story)

I don’t plot a whole book, but I went through and sketched out the scenes in a few sentences. I read books on character development, goal motivation, conflict and scene and structure. Just to name a few. While I read, I wrote. I found a few other people in the area who were writing, and we would get together once a month and talk about our projects. I was a writer. I wrote every day and on weekends. I cut back on TV and read books. I cut back on gardening because I worked full-time and couldn’t fit it in with writing. I stayed focus, set goals and wrote. I finished that first book. (And it’s still hidden in a closet)

I started the next book. I found I had to write. Even if I didn’t sell, I had to write down all those thoughts and people in my head. I continued to write daily, (even if we went camping), reading, attending workshops and taking classes online. I really wanted to be a writer.

What about you? How badly do you want it?

Pablo Picasso said, “Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.”