It's a strange thing really; writing.
The other day, my girlfriend and I were discussing what we found fascinating. She was surprised to find that while science interests me, it hardly ever fascinates me. She in this way, is my opposite. I find History fascinating. And more than anything I find the use of language for both literary and poetic purpose completely fascinating.
It's interesting though, as she pointed out, how I can be so involved in something that describes and provokes more than the actual thing itself. After all writing is often describing a story that happened in the real world, or telling a historical tale that was only discovered through science. To put it more simply, science is the destination, and writing is the journey.
I have a special bond with writing. Do I think it can be stronger? Definitely. Do I want it to change and mold as I grow older and wiser? Yes.
But what I have is truly special. I'm not always capable of putting my thoughts into words like some writers. Everything I write isn't a gem, but sometimes I think that's what is great about it. Finding the diamond in the rough. I know myself well enough to know when something I write is forced, or mediocre. But the feeling I get when I know I've written something beautiful or something straight from my heart is a feeling that is beyond anything else I've experienced. And I'm addicted to it.
And that is how I know I'm a writer.
What's funny about writing is it's rarely a profession. Sure, you can be a journalist, or a screenwriter, or a novelist. But for those of us who aren't (or who are aspiring to be someday) are we still writers? What constitutes being a writer? Do I have to have dozens of hand-written pages at home strewn across my room? Do I have to have notebooks full of ideas and short stories; poems and songs? If that's true then I only reach the criteria on a few levels.
But it isn't- and that's what is great about being a writer.
No one gets to tell you that you aren't a writer. If you write something that you put your heart into, and you like it, and you want to be a writer then guess what?
You're a writer.
You don't have to have published novels, or famous poetry, or any amount of awards.
Like Ernest Hemingway once said, "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed". And that's it. You just have to sit down and bleed on the page. Bleed all of your experience and soul and being onto one blank page and anything that comes out will be a gem by default. Because it's yours.
Regards,
S.J.Hernandez
And that is how I know I'm a writer.
What's funny about writing is it's rarely a profession. Sure, you can be a journalist, or a screenwriter, or a novelist. But for those of us who aren't (or who are aspiring to be someday) are we still writers? What constitutes being a writer? Do I have to have dozens of hand-written pages at home strewn across my room? Do I have to have notebooks full of ideas and short stories; poems and songs? If that's true then I only reach the criteria on a few levels.
But it isn't- and that's what is great about being a writer.
No one gets to tell you that you aren't a writer. If you write something that you put your heart into, and you like it, and you want to be a writer then guess what?
You're a writer.
You don't have to have published novels, or famous poetry, or any amount of awards.
Like Ernest Hemingway once said, "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed". And that's it. You just have to sit down and bleed on the page. Bleed all of your experience and soul and being onto one blank page and anything that comes out will be a gem by default. Because it's yours.
Regards,
S.J.Hernandez
