If you’re a creative type drawn to words you’ve probably got a talent, or at least a desire, for communication. Communication connects us to others, it’s a universal need.
People who meet their soul-deep need for connection through writing do it in a wide variety of ways. They write songs, diaries, stories, history, speeches, poems, newsletters, plays, journalism, personal essays, memoirs, screenplays, comic books, letters, emails, cook books, how-to articles, notes on chalkboards.
For me, it almost doesn’t matter what I write, as long as my words make that vital connection.
Writers are introspective; we like to mull things over and try to make sense of the world, or at least what happened last night. One of my biggest questions has always been “What am I doing here? What is my life’s purpose?”
After thinking about this for many years, and doing a lot of research and discovery writing trying to pinpoint my reason for being, I have come to believe that my primary purpose here on earth is to love and be loved. It’s really that simple. And love, in all its forms, seeks connection. And one of the primary ways I connect to others is through writing.
If you keep the idea that what you’re really trying to do when you write is connect with others on a soul level, all the things that block you will fall away. If you realize that it doesn’t matter if you connect with one person or many, that either way you’re fulfilling your life’s purpose, then all your distress and worry about publication or getting enough hits on your blog will vanish.
Not everyone who feels drawn to writing will be able to make a living writing. But everyone who is drawn to writing will be able to find a job that uses or helps their writing in some way. That’s what happened to me.
When I was a waitress, I went home at night, put my feet up, and wrote poems and stories about the connections I made with customers. Writing about serving people food and drinks helped me to be fully present in my work life, to pay attention to details. I think because I wrote, I did a better job communicating with customers. I always made good tips. I even met and married the father of my children, who was first a customer, and then a husband. And I eventually published several of those poems and stories.
When I was a secretary, I wrote the company newsletter at one job and speeches for my bosses at another. I didn’t think anything of it. It was fun for me. Other people in those companies appreciated my work. I got to connect to folks I would have never met had I not been busy researching stories for the newsletter, and I got respect and praise from my bosses when I was able to deliver a clear speech in time for last minute presentations to corporate big shots.
Now I’m a teacher, and I write lots of lectures and lesson plans. I deliver these to young people every day, helping them learn the skills they need to sail through the writing part of their college lives. Some of those lectures and lesson plans became a big part of my first book.
Being a writer is not necessarily the same thing as sitting at the top of the best seller list. All you really have to do to be a writer is to write. The rest will take care of itself, sometimes in surprising ways.
Leave a Reply