BE A WRITER IN 2024!

In a 1958 interview, William Faulkner said, “Don’t be ‘a writer’ but instead be writing.”

“Don’t be ‘a writer’ but instead be writing. Being ‘a writer’ means being stagnant. The act of writing shows movement, activity, life. When you stop moving, you’re dead. It’s never too soon to start writing, as soon as you learn to read.” (from an interview excerpted in The Daily Princetonian, 1958)

I have no quibble with the latter. Action is absolutely essential. But I beg to differ on the former. Being a writer—identifying oneself as a writer—is a mind-set with profound implications.

Benefits of Being a Writer I’ve Observed

For one thing, you become more aware of the nuances of language—for example, the difference between mopping up the water and sopping up the water. It goes beyond dictionary definitions, punctuation, and grammar, necessary as those are.

Being a writer may not be terribly beneficial to your spine…

You become a more observant person, noticing what people say and how they say it. You realize that saying something is beautiful, scary, dull, etc. really doesn’t communicate much. It tells the speaker’s emotional response, but does nothing to allow the listener to share the experience. What caused that emotional response?

Then, too, writers are life-long learners. Writers need to—want to—“get it right.” If the story is set during the Great Depression, and you write that ham was ten cents a pound or gas was ten cents a gallon, it needs to be accurate. Readers can’t trust a writer to get anything right if they don’t get basic, verifiable facts right.

Writers meet other writers, in classes, critique groups, at conferences, online, in all sorts of interesting places. The result is a confluence of interesting people. I never met a boring writer (though some writers are married to remarkably boring spouses).

Being a writer is great for your abs and hip flexors…

Other writers sometimes become friends, friends who really care about what you are doing, who are willing and eager to talk about it. I have a whole circle of friends and relatives who are happy when I publish something (mostly short stories these days). But they don’t ask about my writing otherwise, seldom ask the title, never ask where it is published, don’t really want to hear about plot, structure, or getting stuck.

Writing has allowed me to know myself better. The recurrence of themes—whether struggles, outcomes, or family relationships—shows me what is (and probably always was) important to me.

I once wrote a story of a childhood event vivid in my memory from the perspective of my mother. It gave me a new appreciation for her life situation, marriage, and goals.

Speaking personally, writing is the most intellectually engaging thing I do. It feeds my soul.

Benefits of Being a Writer Researchers Have Observed

There isn’t a lot of research on soul food, but there’s quite a bit of research on the benefits of writing.

Being a writer may cause oddly patterned hair loss…

Psychiatrist and life coach Dr. Erwin Kwun has described five benefits of writing:

  • Build resilience
  • Sharpen the mind
  • Boost your happiness
  • Communicate complex ideas clearly
  • Learn about yourself

For one thing, writing is good for one’s cognitive skills. According to a review of relevant research by M. Cecil Smith, Ph.D. (published by Northern Illinois University), writing seems to be beneficial to cognitive skills because it requires focusing attention, planning and forethought, organization of one’s thinking, and reflective thought, among other abilities – thereby sharpening these skills through practice and reinforcement. Writing may, indeed, be beneficial to intellectual vitality, creativity, and thinking abilities.

The National Institutes of Health agrees, being a writer is good for one’s emotional well-being. “Writing allows individuals to observe, monitor, and evaluate how they express and control their emotions. The sense of control over emotions that is a direct result of writing helps the writer improve their well-being and reduces negative emotions.”

Being a writer carries a distinct risk of introspection and fabulous fashion sense…

English teachers and writing teachers know very well the benefits of being a writer. Not only is writing practice critical to develop good reading skills, it is also a crucial job skill. Because so much communication today takes place online, being able to write clearly and directly has become a necessary skill for social connection.

  • Writing equips us with communication and thinking skills.
  • Writing expresses who we are as people.
  • Writing makes our thinking and learning visible and permanent.
  • Writing fosters our ability to explain and refine our idea.
  • Writing allows us to process and understand our own experiences.
  • Writing gives us better empathy and understanding of people different from us.
  • Writing creates entertainment for ourselves and others.
  • Writing provides others with a sense of who we are and how we think.

Writing is an important and powerful tool in everyday life. Writing allows us to store information, to make a permanent record. The appeal of this function of writing is evidenced by the popularity of keeping diaries (records of daily events) and journaling (with more focus of the meaning of events, making it more internal and personal).

Bottom Line: Be a writer in 2024. It’s good for you!

MY LIFE AS A WRITER

Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 2021

I’ve accepted that a Nobel Prize, a Pulitzer—even a New York Times bestseller—just isn’t in my future.

Fortunately, I am not writing to put food on the table; I write to feed my soul.

That said, here goes.

The Upside: There’s So Much Of It!

Social Benefits


Good conversation: I’ve never met a boring writer. Some have boring spouses—or occasionally obnoxious ones—but writers themselves are consistently good company. 

Because writers tend to turn up in the same places, over time we get to know each other, and often acquaintances turn into friends.

They’re interesting and varied, and generally we are like-minded. 

Then, too, fellow writers are likely to listen actively when I talk about writing. 

Writers value my short story strengths. I’ve published more than 60 short works in literary journals and anthologies. Writers celebrate these short story publications! They get what it means. Other friends, even family, are likely to offer a polite, “That’s nice,” or, “Congratulations,” without asking so much as the title of the work or the publication! For the general public, “writer” means novels, or other books.

Simultaneously, other writers commiserate with my struggles, setbacks, rejections, etc.

Brain Benefits

Writing boosts my emotional intelligence: motivation, empathy, self-regulation, self-awareness, and social skills.

I’m organized,  think clearly, and process things efficiently and analytically. This includes being able to handle negative events/feelings. No, I can’t measure how much difference writing makes for me personally, but psychological research says that these things are true of writers overall.

In general, writing keeps my brain alive. Focusing only on gardening, cooking, TV, hobbies, etc., doesn’t challenge me to think, reason, or explore.

I’m a researcher by inclination and professional training, so I make sure the facts in my fiction are right. In the process, I’m always learning.

Emotional Benefits

These are self-assessments. Such results would not guaranteed for others!

  • Staves off depression by spending time on something I believe is worth doing
  • Precludes boredom because the options are endless
  • Boosts self-esteem by getting positive responses from peers and journal editors 

I’m very happy and content! Maybe I’m just lucky, but research indicates that being an author is one of the happiest careers in the U.S.

The Downside: There Isn’t Much For Me

Since I started writing, I’ve become a more critical reader. Now I notice that New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton gives nearly all her women characters ponytails and that her favorite adjective is “simple.” Prolific writer L. T. Ryan consistently uses “sat” when it should be “set.” Such things don’t keep me from enjoying these particular authors’ work, but I do notice.

I’m especially irritated by the language burps of “professionals”: newscasters, columnists, politicians… Oh, sigh.

My Writing Habits

I’m a writing class/workshop junkie! I’m perennially enrolled. Why?

  • Creative stimulation, taking me places I wouldn’t have gone otherwise
  • Structure, deadlines, and accountability make me actually produce
  • Appreciation for the work of others, well-published and/or fellow students

I’ve been in critique groups for years. Whereas classes and workshops are great for generating new ideas, they aren’t usually conducive to developing those ideas, or polishing them for submission.

  • I learn what’s working (or not)
  • I find out whether what is on the page is what I intended

I’ve heard horror stories about the destruction wrought by competitive writing groups.  Fortunately, I’ve avoided those. The criticism is intended to make the work better, not to belittle me

I submit something at least every two months If I get more than six per year, great, but six is the minimum.

Although I do write brief diary entries daily, my creative writing is most, not all, days.

Reading fees of any sort turn me off. Therefore, contests do not draw me in. For one thing, there are almost always submission fees. Also, I’m content if my writing is “good enough” for publication. It doesn’t have to be “the best.” 

I listen for fresh language. For example, I recently came across a FaceBook post that included “the I.Q. of a crayon.”

FYI, my writing time is the late hours of the night, wee hours of the morning. And my writing area is a shambles.

BOTTOM LINE: I’m convinced writing is good for me. I’ll keep on keeping on!

1:57 AM

And it hit me: I hadn’t written a blog! Where did the days go since Friday Tuesday?

Fauna

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_0243-2-300x171.jpg
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_0239-2-129x300.jpg

I had a chance to enjoy the acrobatics of Stanley and Ollie at the bird feeder.  They’re better than a professional circus troupe, but without the spandex and sequins! (For more about their antics, check out an earlier blog I wrote about the behaviors and habits of squirrels in my yard and elsewhere.)

Flora

Visiting yard plants is always interesting this time of year (sometimes a bit confusing). I found that a purple baptisia anemone planted by the front back door has migrated to a side garden near the back—clearly the work of fairies.

I have a single rose bud opening (although my neighbors’ roses are hanging heavy) Christmas rose hellebore loaded with buds and a few blooms .

I have a single rose bud opening (although my neighbors’ roses are hanging heavy) Christmas rose hellebore loaded with buds and a few blooms .

The rhododendron has its first bloom, and azaleas are going wild. I think this weather is confusing them. Irises Daffodils are so heavy-headed that they are resting on nearby azaleas. My peonies camellia sasanqua aren’t as far along as they were three years ago, but they’re showing lots of buds for the future.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_0274-2-300x228.jpg

The patio pots have flourishing mint, chives, oregano, thyme, sage, and—surprisingly—dill and parsley that wintered over.

My mums are going crazy! I love their colors, and I wish I could convince mine to be perennials.

Fiction

Then, too, there were writing tasks. I wrote the first draft of “Pandemic.” I’m involved in an online writing class, and this week was my turn to present.

Fraternizing

All of that doesn’t even touch on communications with family and friends. Like many in the US (and around the world), I’ve been a bit preoccupied with the election results this week.

I’ll try to get out of myself for Friday Tuesday!

Bottom line for writers: Life happens.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is il_fullxfull.1500338531_mnqz-1024x576.jpg

Blog Block

blog block
[Source: Local writer Betsy Arnett]
If it weren’t January, I’d call it spring fever. I simply could not settle down to write a substantive blog for today. What did I do instead, you might well ask. Well, I’ll tell you.

I lingered over multiple cups of coffee and enjoyed my backyard wildlife. The squirrel just started visiting again after a long hiatus, but he’s as cute as ever. I think I’ll name him Stanley.

I finally pulled out a dead  plant, may it RIP after hanging in for several years. I replaced it with stems I’ve been rooting for spring planting because it won’t live in the ground over winter.

By then it was time to make (and eat) soup. While I was at it, I made two!

blog block
Passing through the living room, I thought that I really ought to put away the last of the Christmas decorations, but instead. . .

blog block
I spent a while enjoying the light catcher and wind chimes. The light catcher was a Christmas present and we have six sets of wind chimes around and about.

blog block
Being focused on the yard, I had to check on the progress of spring bulbs: greenery everywhere but no buds yet.

As long as I was outdoors, why not take a little walk and enjoy the gorgeous day? So I did that until it was time for my tai chi class. This is my teacher at the 2018 World Tai Chi Day.

blog block
When I got home, I realized that the laundry basket was overflowing, which took me to the bedroom—where I felt compelled to organize my earrings.

Yes, I know that is an obscene number of earrings, but I’ve been collecting earrings for decades. I can still wear the earrings I wore in high school, so why get rid of any?

Eventually I did try to focus on writing. But while I found these two quotes wise, they didn’t trigger any wise thoughts of my own. Indeed, I decided that today I’m in the reading phase.

becoming michelle obama
BOTTOM LINE: Focus, focus, focus! (I.e., do as I say, not as I did today!)