Congratulations, You’re a Writer!

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What does it take to call yourself a writer? Sometimes, using this word is a challenge and an act of courage. Today, writer Lakiesha Edwards shares how NaNoWriMo has helped her embrace her own identity as a life-long writer:

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to be a writer. People will tell you that there are certain qualities you need to be a writer: things like knowing how to spell, being aware of grammar rules, liking English as a subject, and actually enjoying sitting down and putting words on a page. But the truth is, all you need to be a writer is to write. All of those details are tools to help you get there. 

I made this discovery after just jumping out here on the web once I wrote my first book. I’m pretty new to the whole writing world online, and I think it’s wonderful that places like NaNoWriMo exist. With NaNoWriMo, I found the support I’d been craving to help me push past the rough spots of writing: advice for overcoming writer’s block; encouragement to write every day; the drive to finish my work in progress rather than stall it with editing at the wrong times; connection to a community of other writers; how to have fun with the project I’m working on; and, most importantly, how to just write, write, write nonstop and keep my momentum up without getting burnt out. Even after the event months are over, NaNoWriMo is here for me, and for all of us writers.

If you feel that your dream is to be a writer, you’ve come to the right place. There’s a whole welcoming world of bold people to share your thoughts, feelings, and emotions with. I like to dream that just through telling my story, I’ll someday be able to pay my mortgage, car insurance, put children through college, etc. But even if it never ends up being my paid profession, I still absolutely love to write. 

“My friend, you’re a writer!”

My family members always know when I’m around because I write all over envelopes, phone books, wherever there’s enough space for me to write anything. I knew I wanted to be a writer since I actually learned how to write. I wrote so much in school they knew I would have no problems when it was time to take out our class journal. My mother still keeps notes in her purse that I wrote to her in 1998!

Do you ever have dreams about writing, the kind where your words are prancing in your head? And even when you wake up and do your morning routine, you’re still thinking about it while brushing your teeth, trying to master the story in your head? When you’re supposed to be working, do you find yourself conjuring up the plot of your story, hardly able to wait to get back to your writing board? While you’re on break, instead of taking your normal break, do you decide to finish the ending of your story? 

My friend, you’re a writer!

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Lakiesha Edwards is 41 years old, but has loved writing since she was 12 years old. She writes poems and music, and has poems in an anthology through Eber & Wein. Lakiesha’s hobbies (besides writing/reading) include volleyball and giving lots of good relationship advice.

Top image licensed under Creative Commons from lecates on Flickr.

Jun. 8 2018
#nanowrimo #writing #amwriting #by nano guest #lakiesha edwards #community
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