Writing and Common Excuses Not To

If you qualify the term, "writer," as someone who has written and published some literature, then I can proudly say I know dozens of writers. If, however, you open up the definition of writer to include those people who have a great idea for a book, play, poem, etc., but just haven't gotten around to actually creating it, that tally rockets into the thousands. Now, I actually consider a writer someone who writes as a preferred form of communication for thoughts and ideas, which is an entirely different discussion. So, for now, let's look at the difference between those first two categories, and why people don't graduate from the big group to the narrower one.

"I really don't have the skills to say what I want to say." That's a fair assessment for an initial diagnosis, but it doesn't hold water in the long run. I played Little League baseball in my youth, and maybe two kids who I saw play really had what it took to go pro. (One went pro, but in basketball, the other died before graduating high school). The rest of those kids - myself included - had minimal talent but played in an attempt to get better. They found their strengths, worked on their weaknesses, and built up their game. Even I did, until I realized the weakness in my game was all the kids started hitting puberty and growing above five feet tall while I stayed a little pipsqueak. However, the point is, nobody has the skills straight out of the chute, which is why we write plenty of other things, working our way to where we can tell the tale we want to.

"I just don't have the time." I wrote my first novel, The Book of Cain, in 40-minute intervals on the train to and from work, assuming my joker friends didn't join me for the trip. I wanted to tell the story, so I made a little regular time to create. It took a while but it was worth it. And in case my case doesn't quite tip the scales, New York Times Bestseller Mary Kubica wrote her first book shortly after having her first child. Imagine having a child - knowing full well that those little darlings feed on your spare time - and still arranging a little time in the morning to write before the morning crying starts. Mary Kubica did that because she wanted to tell that story. She's told many more since that.

"I'll get around to it at some point." This one I hear a lot, and it really grates my nerves, today in particular. One of my longstanding friends - a journalist by trade and very deep into news and industry writing - always had a penchant for the theater. He performed in at least five different Shakespeare plays, and probably more stuff as well. However, he wanted to create something. He wanted to be the playwright, not the performer, if only once. Plenty of times over drinks, I would tell him to get started on it - it wasn't going to write itself. With gin-induced confidence I would get on his case to get started, to write an outline, a character sketch, a something that would get him moving. "I'll get around to it," he would answer.

My friend died this week, entirely unexpectedly. He never got around to writing his play, though I am sure he thought he had the time. But none of us have a guarantee on that.

"Everyone has a reason to not do something" as the saying goes. However, it just takes that first step forward to change the entire trajectory toward being productive and heading toward making that thing in your head come to life. At that point, you have done something that few have accomplished, many have wanted to do, and some never had the chance to complete.