A few blogs ago I expounded on the fact that to be a writer you simply have to write - anything. Some people are writers professionally and while I assume they have a gift for it, I feel like a writer should also have the desire to write. Strong desire.
My last blog I mentioned meeting a writer who was a success without trying to be and I offered the opinion that it wasn't a good thing to have happen. This is why:
The first writer's workshop I ever attended was a talk given by an author of a children's book. A book so popular that when I took a course on writing children's literature it was part of the curriculum. Many years later, when I was in grad school taking a class on children's lit while studying Library Science, this book was again featured as a great example. Somewhere between those classes, closer to the former than the latter, I went to hear this author speak.
I won't mention the title out of professional courtesy. I don't remember her name. I recently looked her up and found she went on to write dozens of books (that are now all out of print). I don't recall details of the talk she gave, but essentially she told us she got an idea for a kids' book and she wrote it. This was her first and only book at the time.
There is one thing she said that I remember so well I can quote it. During the Q and A she was asked the always-asked question: "How can aspiring writers get published?" Her response was that she
showed her book to a friend who was (or had) an agent or editor and they loved it and it was published. Then she said, "I don't know what the rest of you do. Isn't there some book you can use? Writer's Market or something?"
I was disgusted. This person, in my opinion, was a successful author who wasn't a writer. She didn't live or even love to write. I don't mind that she was so lucky - I wish that for everyone. I hate that she was so complacent about her good fortune. Other writers who have this experience know the value. They know how lucky they are and tell others how grateful they are for it.
So why do I think of this woman as a non-writer? I've wondered for years and come to a conclusion. It's not that she isn't talented and maybe she even liked to write. But I feel writer's all share something. Whatever our experience, type of writing, age, creed, or level of success, we all relate to each other. We understand the difficulties and triumphs, frustration and elation - the struggle - that writers share.
She didn't. She didn't get it. For all her ease in writing and getting published and continuing success with future books, I think she missed out.
There's some quote about how success is sweeter when you have to work for it because you appreciate it more and another quote about how it's not the destination, it's the journey. While sometimes writing feels like a journey on a treadmill, much of the joy is in the doing and being part of a community of others just like you, however different we may be.
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