Regina Brett's Fifty Life Lessons: The Eighteenth Lesson

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Lesson Number Eighteen: A writer writes.  If you want to be a writer, write.

This is a lesson I, myself, have to learn. When I was twenty-five years old I told myself, I should have written a book by the time I am thirty-five years old. And it must be a published book. Now, I am thirty-seven. Did I have that written book? No. There is none. Am I disappointed? Absolutely! 

This is an advice I always hear from writers: if you want o be a writer, write, write, write.... Well, I really love to write. And I really want to become a writer. It is just simple as it seems - to just write. However, it is not that easy because it is not everyday or every hour I have the inspiration. More often than not I just stare into an empty screen or paper. Writers need inspiration. And that inspiration is what prompts us to write. But just like any undertaking, all we need to do is establishing discipline and giving more time to constant practice until such undertaking is mastered and achieved. 

There is one obstacle, we, aspiring writers have to hurdle --time. Yes, there is always a time for everything. But when faced with so many activities and responsibilities, we just have to prioritize. Take my situation for example; I am a working mom with two kids, one four-year old and one seven-month old. Our nanny is staying out and is present only during the day. My only help at night is my mother because my husband is busy with his other responsibilities. With all the household chores, we hardly have time for ourselves alone. Thus it is harder for me to find time to write. However, it is my calling. I lose balance in myself whenever I put aside taking care of my soul. What I did, whenever I have free time at work I write even just for thirty minutes in between clients' and office mates' interruption. It might seem difficult for me, yet I have to do it if I were to please my soul--if I were to become a writer.

So to all aspiring writers out there, I will repeat Regina Brett's words, 'if you want to be a writer, write.  

Get happy!