November is here, and it’s all about writing. This month marks National Novel Writing Month (Na.No.Wri.Mo.) and National Life Writing Month. Like many people out there, I write a lot: I create short stories on my computer, write fanfictions, wrote for my college newspaper, and I own several journals that I write several thoughts and dreams down in. I also hope to write a novel of my own and have it published.
There are a lot of people out there who feel differently about writing though. Once in a while we may hear someone say something like, “I hate writing papers,” or “Writing is stupid.” Perhaps those people just don’t understand what they are saying. Writing is everywhere in songs, books, directions, movies, TV shows, musicals, plays - all of them involve a writing process of some sort. Sometimes it can definitely feel like a chore or work, but writing is still work, and it can be difficult, it is also like a lot of jobs though; the more you do it, the better you get at it.
Whenever I get writer’s block and feel like I should give up, I remember that it’s not all going to come to me right away; it’s not meant to be easy. J.K. Rowling was rejected by a dozen publishers when she wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and look how long it took her to create all seven books of the series. She never gave up though, and neither should I.
Do I expect to have my novel be a huge hit and be able to build a franchise out of it, like J.K. Rowling, NO. When I write, I do it because I enjoy it. No matter what I am writing about, I am creating, taking words and putting meaning behind them; and to me, that is important. Do I get embarrassed when I go back to one of my old pieces of work and find a tiny little typo, or when I see all the scribbles and cross-outs in my journal, yes, but it’s perfectly okay for me to feel like this. As human beings, we never want other people to see our mistakes because we worry about how that affects their opinions of us. When I look at my old stories and papers though, I look back and see that even if I did make several grammatical errors, I put my emotions, my thoughts, and myself into every word that I write.
Writing is more than a task; it is a release as well. It is a great and healthy opportunity to let out all the thoughts and the emotions that you feel the need to release. So even if you aren’t someone who writes every chance you get, give it a try next time an idea pops into your head or you have thoughts are clouding your mind. Even if you only write a few words you can find that there is a lot behind them.