You have a short story, a novel, your memoir, a poem storming about in your head. What’s preventing you from putting it down on paper? Maybe your writing is good enough for you to be on the next episode of Oprah …. but you don’t realize it. You have no self-confidence because your fourth-grade teacher told you your writing was silly or bad or just a plain waste of time. But she was wrong and you know it. Conversely, maybe you have fabulous and unique ideas, but really have a hard time putting them down on paper, organizing them, or even creating proper paragraphs. What to do?
Your first step is to join a writers’ group. Most of them are free, and held in convenient locations at convenient times. It’s easy to google your closest one. Your second step is make the time daily – yes, we said daily – to write. It can be 100 words; it can be 4,000 words. But just like brushing your teeth, it’s a no-brainer that you make the time for, even without thinking. Lastly, talk about writing. All the time. Talk to your sister, your neighbor, your boss. You’ll be surprised about how many folks want to join you in your writing journey, want to hear what you have to say, want to read what you’ve written, and will encourage your writing.
So try to conquer the shyness and face your fear. Pick up your pencil or your pen, or open your laptop, or turn on your desktop, and get to it. We want to hear your successes down the road!