Am I Still a Writer? And Other Existential Questionsby Grace Atkinson 2005 was supposed to be my year. The year I would polish and submit the four projects I had nearly complete. The year I would perfect my craft and stubbornly submit until someone gave in. The year someone, please God, would offer me a publishing contract. The Universe had other plans. Life happened, and my writing and publishing dreams did not. I haven't written much other than book reviews for the past year. I do have a lovely new daughter to show for 2005. But that wasn't the plan. So am I still a writer? My heart says I am. I still work my stories out in my mind, developing characters and plot. But very few words have made it onto my hard drive. And the ones I did produce, I promptly deleted, deeming them as below my usual standards, not valuing the process of working through the crap and getting to the good stuff. Am I still a writer? If I don't write, I'm no different than the thousands of other people who 'would like to write a book someday.' Words are what set writers apart from everyone else--actual words on paper, not in our heads. In 2004, I got to the point of writing nearly every day, honing my skills, refining my stories, creating novels I hoped to see in print. I was definitely a writer then. I will be a writer again. Between the feedings and the laundry and the diapers and my older children's carpools and after school activities, I WILL WRITE. Somehow .... And I am a writer now. These words on this paper prove it. You can visit me online at www.grace-tyler.com, but my website hasn't been updated for a year either! This article first appeared in the March 2006 issue of Heart of the West, the newsletter of the Utah RWA. Permission to forward granted, with proper credit given.
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