A writer is not a writer because you are published, a writer is a writer because you write.

I am that rare in-between of writers – a couple of my works are published. A poem here, a short story there, and then the well dried up, my muse went on permacation and I stopped … er… writing. For years. However, even an unpublished writer is still a writer, albeit a frustrated one.

In all the years, whether I’ve been actively writing or not writing, I’ve been thinking about writing. I’d stock up on the most amazing of notebooks, the most gorgeous of pens. I’d tell myself this is the start of my next Big Thing, and then I’d stash the stationery away, not wanting to make as much of a scratch on it in case I mess up the beautiful simplicity and then not be inspired to write.

It is beyond my understanding how the mind can come up with the amount of excuses that it does to not just start. Start writing. Write anything. Even gibberish can be edited – it is better to be editing and fixing than not to be writing at all.

The best novelists in the world talk about approaching writing as if it is a job. Have a separate area where you do your “job”. Decide on the actual time you’ll be spending writing every day, and then sit there and write. No matter what.

Do not wait for a better time to start, or a better age. Right here, write now. Write about what you know, research what you don’t. Get proofreaders, beta readers, any readers – get input, get advice. Listen to the advice. Don’t get all uppity and angry at criticism – if it adds value, accept it, process it, see if it works.

Have you got any ideas that inspire you to exit the quagmire of not writing? Please share in the comments section – let’s get writing!