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When I tell people that I am a writer it bothers me to hear those who say, “oh that’s a nice hobby, what do you really want to do with your life?” I just reply, “Writing is my life, it’s who I am.” That’s really the only way that I can address those kinds of statements. People have no idea just what it takes to be a writer. It may look as if we just sit around and write all day and get to be free spirits but it’s so much more then that. Writing is reading, and researching, and conversing with a multitude of people. It is being confident in what you write and who you are within that particular piece of work. It is being determined to not let the cynics and the pessimists get inside your head (which is harder than you would think). It’s withstanding the constant rejections and being able to press on. Writing is an art and a writer is the person who transforms that art from idea to actual vision. We writers have what is called a calling, not a drive, but a pull that leaves us no choice but to follow it.

Writers are more than just people who write down words as a way of life. Writing involves so much more than that. We are people who live and breathe words. We are people who are truly in love with words and the meanings behind them. Writers are surveyors, reporters, interpreters, storytellers, and most of all observers. We have a passion for ideas that is almost too intense. We are fearless explorers who are engaged in life, and love and know what it means to be alive, to grow, to experience, to know, to learn, to love, and to fear. Writers ask what if? We want to know more than just the who, what, when, and where, we want to know why? We need to know why.

Writers are complicated to say the very least and contrary to popular belief this profession does not come as easy as it may be perceived. There are a lot of ups and downs that accompany being a writer but the trick is having or forming really thick skin. That mixed in with patience, persistence, and perseverance might get you really far in this line of work. We’ve learned to laugh at ourselves and throw out those perfectionist standards which we sometimes set. Rejection is a way of life for writers but we come with an odd mix of optimism and humility along with a humble heart and a healthy dose of realism that seem to help. Writers have to be confident. Sure we let that circle of doubt cloud us from time to time wondering whether or not what we’re doing is really worth it or not. But we get through it and move past it and move on.

Writers are an example of many things such as strength, extreme willpower, and a huge amount of creativity and idealism. We find the discipline and stamina to support our love of words and we use our vigorous imagination to interpret our experiences in life. Writers are people who have something to say and something that they absolutely have to get out. Writing to me isn’t a choice, or just a profession. It is who I am and it is how I express myself and it’s how I get heard. It is where I implement the voices in my head that are trying to get through to someone else but have no way to do it on their own. Writing isn’t just a career, it is an existence. I not only write because I can’t fight the urge, but I write simply because I have no choice.

by Jimmetta Carpenter
© November 2006