Find Your Compass

We all go through something that would result in being in a world of frustration. It could be dealing with a project, your parents will not stop annoying you or even writing an article. There are times when you may feel lost and not know what to do.

But do not feel discouraged, because everyone has felt that way one way or another. I know before my junior year of college I felt that way. Then I registered for my Writing Fiction class and something inside of me woke up.

There were multiple ideas and tips that I did not agree with in the class but one thing that I would take away from the class was the book we read every day at the beginning or the end of lecture. Letters to a Young Writer, I knew as soon as I purchased it at the store that I would fall in love with it and I was right. Every entry that McCann wrote related to me on some level. Some entries were deeper than others but I was still excited to read them in class and I even would read the letters when I was not in class.

The book gave me a writing compass.

This is what I mean that as a writer we need to believe in something. Find something to keep you close, something that could help keep the writing fire inside of you alive.The spark could be a book, a person, something that gets you thinking. It has to make you raise your eyebrows and want to learn so much more. Your writing compass will keep you centered while the world around you is spiraling out of control. Writers get lost in their own ideas and pieces and sometimes we do not come up for air and see the grand picture. So sometimes we need to take a step back, recollect ourselves and evaluate the importance of why we are writers. I found that within Letters and I am very glad.

As a writer, there will be times when things will get hard and make us question ourselves but we cannot let that keep us down for too long. Not everyone can be a writer, just not everyone could be a doctor or an engineer. We look at the world differently and,

To be an artist means never to avert your eyes. -Akira Kurosawa

That is when the few gain the most knowledge.

So thank you Mr. McCann for your book of letters, it made me realize that I have so much to learn as a writer and I am excited to see what the future has in store for me. Who knows, maybe you will one day read this letter.

-A Young Writer