As writers, we get a lot of negativity based on what we like to do. Some people call us loners who stay in their own shells, some people are scared of us because we aren’t afraid to put our emotions out there, some people think what we do is worthless, and some people think we are just blatantly crazy. All together writers are not exactly what you think.We are creative, ambitious, important, desired, and amazing human beings who love what we do. It’s a passion but it is hard work. I know personally, my mind is always turning, and probably will never stop, in an effort to come up with new ideas, new conversation starters, new topics, and that is very hard work. You have to amaze yourself constantly. You have to love things and hate things, you have to make small talk and experience life all to come up with these powerful things we called ideas. Then once you have an idea, you have to find the right words to fit into the perfect sentence to then use correct grammar and find the connector to the next sentence for it to finally be considered complete. Like I said before, it isn’t easy work. As you may love being in the police force or working at a bank, we love writing. We love putting our thoughts down on paper and then being able to read our own work. We love looking back to the beginning of the year and seeing not only our writing style change but being able to read and see the differences in ourselves. We love brightening someone’s day by them just being able to take a look through a website or a magazine. We love knowing that the other writers are constantly boosting each other up to do the best we possibly can. It is a family within a passion; how cool is that? Writing can be hard, so don’t get me wrong when I say how great it is because, like everything, it also comes with flaws. Writing takes time and practice, it takes patience- a lot of patience, and especially as a freelance writer. For those of you who are not familiar with the word freelance, it means that one has to sell their own work or services by the hour, day, or job, rather than working on a regular salary or hourly basis for one employer. As you can guess by the description it comes with a level of “hit and miss”. For the ones who do freelance, you will understand the depth of when I say how hard it is to keep a steady income. It doesn’t always mean a pay cheque and it doesn’t always mean a publication. Which just makes the process so much more important. As I say that, being a freelancer also means you can write when you are able to. You are able to work a full-time job but then still be able to sell your words by spending your free time writing. You can pick and choose the times when you want to write and it can be from anywhere- that’s my favorite part. Oh, you’re at the grocery store – gotta start writing, oh at the bar – got a grab a napkin and write this down… it never stops. That’s the true power of writing. When you become so attracted and so excited about what you write and about what you do, it leads to your happy place. Yes, you may not be the most social and yes, you may not have that much time to write. No, you may not be able to come up with wonderful pieces all the time but as everyone says, it’s the thought that counts. It’s the time you put towards those ideas that generate that creative juice inside your head, that turns into words on paper. For those writers who sometimes feel like writing is a lost cause, please don’t stop writing. You may have been talked badly about or you may have been denied the ability to work for a full-time company but you still can have the potential to work and do that thing you love. Keep trying someone will love your thoughts! For the people who believe writing is a useless talent, one that anyone can come by, I suggest you rethink that idea. I suggest you get to know and understand who a writer truly is and all the hard work that get involved with the process. You’ll be able to see the difference once you finally understand it from their own perspective, once you understand the sacrifice and desires it takes to be a writer. Ray Bradbury once said “Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer.” and the truth in those words is remarkable. It states that failure is only a reason to get better and if you keep working at it, you will one day become successful. Let us start using that quote as daily advice so we can one day look back at our failures and be thankful for them. I am thankful to be a dedicated writer, one with a great team of other writers who have nothing but love and support for one another. I am proud to say I AM A WRITER, and will be for the rest of my life. I now take this gift and use it to my advantage as I work as a freelance writer to one day become something even more. Originally written by Ashlyn Thomson on Unwritten
