The Birth and Rebirth of a Writer

I saw my first and only niece for the first time this week, and simply put, she is the most beautiful, tiny darling. At four weeks old, she gives me the sweetest, silliest expressions and they melt my heart.  She doesn't really know much, nor does she have high expectations of anyone.  She just knows when she wants to eat, sleep or be changed. But most of all, like many newborns, even a slight smile from her has a great impact.

Makes me think of how lost we are as "newborn" writers, completely and utterly dependent on our critique partners, beta readers and the internet (or library/bookstores) for improvement and craft-building resources. We have the basic tools but we lack the knowledge of how to best hone them and put them to use. We don't know much, but we do know we love to write and writing makes us happy.

For that reason, I think it very important we remember why we write. Even through the rejections, the wins, the harsh criticism or praises and most importantly, through the endless days of writing. We need to keep our passion.  For some of you out there, this may require a rebirth.

As we grow in our writing, we begin to expect too much too fast.  We are honing our abilities but we continually criticize ourselves. The simple "I love to write" suddenly becomes full of complexities. Only a conscious effort on our part to start over or keep our passion fresh, will allow us to improve and have more of an impact.

As a writer, you don't want to blend or write the standard. You want to stand out, you want to have impact just like that newborn's smile. So my parting thoughts… start each day fresh, keep your passion and aim to inspire your readers.

Filed under: Toni Kelly, Writer's Life, Writing Topics