So I'm A Writer - Now What?

It's best if I approach my title head-on with this one, and not meander about. The obvious answer is: Start writing. However, there's something very unsatisfying about that answer in that it doesn't quite get people where they want to go. They like writing, they've developed their process and learned their tools for creating things, they know they rules and how to break them... but something's still missing. This is where they learn that writing is just a means to an end. What is that end? Let's find out.

As I mentioned over 500 posts ago, my main drive to write came from a desire to make sure the stories bouncing around in my head were brought into being through the written word. I had a lot to work with, a bunch of things to say and even more to create, and this tool known as writing, so I put them to use. However, creating stories wasn't the destination. As it turned out, while I had a lot of things to say and stories to tell, I realized that when I wrote things, I thought about them from different angles and had certain realizations about different concepts. With some larger ideas, I found myself changing my mind about long-held opinions. I found myself... growing. So the purpose of my writing became a tool to better myself; to be more of whatever I really was.

I think it's fair to say that this may not be the purpose of writing for most people, and that's fine. The point of that last paragraph is that we need to discover what our reason is, and why writing is our tool of choice. A very enjoyable reason is to make a good record of your life as you know it, along with the people that made you who you are. Many of the people who shaped me during my youth are no longer around; many never made it to the 21st century. However, I want to make sure that a few more generations hear about my grandmother, my Aunt Isabelle, and the many people who influenced me long before I knew the effect they would have on my life. Writing about your life is a great reason to write - and if I may, here's some advice on writing about those people and their stories.

I could write about Grandma, Aunt Isabelle, and so on, telling many stories about them. What makes these stories truly resonate with the reader is including some note about how their messages carried on through you. If I wrote about my Aunt Isabelle and her days as a teacher in Chicago, well, they're good stories. However, the parts that really carry through are how those events shaped her so that after she retired, when she looked after me and my brothers, that teacher came back to educate us. The story of her in Chicago is fine, but once it covers the arc of time, readers see some vision of that message in themselves.

And, of course, if you want to set out to write the Great American Novel (and yes, there's already a novel of that name), then go ahead and write it. However, this is again not about setting out to write something, but setting out to convey some greater message with writing as a tool to accomplish this. So as you write that novel, think about the message you wish to communicate, and make sure every part of your work hones in on that meaning.

(Then mention me in the acknowledgements.)