Finding the Writer Within

I have been writing Christmas stories for the past 6 years. My grandmother would always critique them. I would send them out in my Christmas letters, but  I never thought that they were good enough to submit to anyone for publication. One day I was down on my self and my counselor said I had so much talent, couldn’t I see it. She was frustrated with me and said why you don’t submit your writing for publication. I didn’t take this seriously as I thought my writing wasn’t worth anything. Her comment stuck with me and 2 years later I started submitting my writing to contests. This one small noticed behavior caused me to change the way I was doing things.

I got up the courage to write to a newsletter and got my article published. I wrote for a commentary to the post and it was published. This gave me courage to enter contests. I have never won a contest, but I did it for the exercise. I had always wanted to write a book and it gave me the courage to start and continue working on the book this year. I wanted help with my writing to hear from other authors and found Writing.com. It gave me the courage to post some of my works and to enter contests here at this site. The comment of one individual opened a doorway to me that I didn’t know existed.

This chain of events has led me to read other writers, critique their work, and to listen to critique’s of my work. I have been given invaluable lessons into the way I write and what I can improve on. Just one comment led me to this sight and furthering my writing. Without it, I would be stuck and not trying to improve myself. I continue to write Christmas letters and get comments like, “Your writing is getting better.” With this one comment, I had the courage to write a book and am actually considering sending it to an agent when it is finished. This is a big step for me. This is one thing I thought I would never be able to do. I come to this site to hone my skills and become a better writer in an atmosphere that is supportive and honest.

It is amazing what one small action that gets noticed can lead to a change of events that can potentially change your entire life. For this, I am ever grateful. This is just one small change that has provided a fruitful endeavor. There have been many changes in my life over the years, but I find that this has been the most significant. Today I have found the writer within. I have a long way to go, but I am started on a path that I know I will never regret. To my counselor’s comment, I will continue to write on and improve and hone my skills.

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