You are already a writer.
People often ask me if I’ve written a memoir. My answer: Not yet. I will when it’s time. And I’ll know when that time comes.
I do know exactly what I’m going to write about with no clue how I’m going to write it or what it’s going to be in the end. But I will write it. I have a document on my computer that is the rawest form of this not-yet-memoir, and when the time is right for me to take this part of my life and soul to the page, I will start there.
I’ve been paid for some of my writing, but more often than not offer it up for the sake of connection, to live for free in whatever corner of the internet I frequent in the moment.
Maybe you have a document similar to mine, one filled with notes and snapshots of an experience that you want to build out with words when your heart tells you it’s time. Maybe publications pay for your words regularly and you can make a living off of writing. Maybe you have a partial manuscript, one that fills you with excitement and carries with it all of those arbitrary checkboxes that we think we need to be a “real” writer. Maybe you’re not as far along in your manuscript or your writing career as you thought you would / could / should be. Maybe you’ve wanted to put your heart to words and are too intimidated to start.
I have some words for you: Keep going.
You are not behind.
You are already a writer.
Anyone who feels the pull to express their soul through words is a writer. Anyone who keeps a document on their computer to safeguard the intimate pains of their heart is a writer. Anyone who uses their words to connect—to themselves, to their god, or to those around them—is a writer.
You don’t have to wait for a literary agent or editor or Instagram comment to confirm this identity to you.
You are already a writer.
Consider this post your permission to call yourself a writer. You don’t need my confirmation, but maybe my words can spark confidence in your heart to start believing this truth.
You are already a writer.
You have a story. That story matters. And the world needs your story to grow, to connect, to heal. Where would we be without our stories, without our writers?
Keep going. You are not behind. You are already a writer.
