Guest Post-Symptoms of a Hidden Writer by Chanda Griese

Are You Truly a Writer?
I’ve asked myself this question dozens of times. Not long ago, I came across this wonderful quote that both challenged me and set my heart at rest:

“Don’t be a writer if you can get out of it! It’s a solitary job… and it requires relentless self-discipline… But if, like the psalmist, you say, “My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned,” then perhaps you will have to write.” 

~Elisabeth Elliot
What can we learn from this wise and gifted woman of faith?
Being a writer requires times of solitude. Have you ever tried to write while someone is talking to you? I have. It doesn’t work. If you want to write something of quality, you have to be alone. With the phone turned off and unless music inspires you, try ditching the earphones, too. Social media outlets are a must for building platform, but many times they become mere entertainment, a distraction, and competition for precious writing time.
Without a consistent, weekly, and better yet, daily time to write, it’s not going to happen. There’s always something that will steal away our attention and our time.

It takes self-discipline to say no, even to good things, and focus solely on writing. Using rituals can help settle the mind for writing, like sharpening pencils, getting a cup of coffee, or spending time in prayer.
Marti Piper, a fellow writer whom I met through Word Weavers International, posted on her blog, to be a successful writer, you must have “rhino skin.” Some writers have to write over a dozen books with one rejection after another before being discovered. It takes tenacity to persevere. Some call it grit. Whatever you want to call it, if you want to be a writer, you cannot give up.

Think of The Turtle and the Rabbit from Aesop’s Fables. The point is not to publish fastest, but to publish no matter how long it takes and share our story with the world. Try posting a mantra above your writing space such as “I do not quit, I persevere!”
Then, you need ideas—something of substance to write. It’s amazing how a small apple seed of a concept can produce a whole bushel-full of spin-off themes. Jot them all down and try to find a way to organize them so that you can refer to them again. I keep a little notebook in my purse to add new ideas when inspiration hits. Others prefer note-taking apps on their phones. Whatever method you use, the point is to capture that brilliant idea to use at a later time.

Good writers are teachable. I once heard it said that mastering the craft takes at least five years and to publish takes even longer. This is where grit comes in. Shoot for the moon and keep on submitting. When our work is rejected, take it as another learning opportunity. Make appropriate changes and try again. Attend critique groups, writer’s workshops, and conferences. Writers must accept that we are life-long learners.
To be a writer, you must be relentlessness or possess a burning drive to write in a way that will impact a person’s view of life. Now that is the hallmark of a true writer. Your writing is an expression of who you are. And, you want to share your passions. You cannot help it.
I keep finding out myself, the more I write, the more I want to write. I don’t think I could ever tire of it.
How about you, are you a hidden writer? If so, how did you know and are you doing something about it?

Married to her high school sweetheart and homeschool mom of four feisty kiddos, this Florida girl has to switch gears daily from preschool to high school with housework in-between. So before anyone else wakes up, she writes. You can find Chanda at www.kidsbooks2grow.com or on Twitter:  @chgriese

Image in Public Domain courtesy of Wikipedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UnderwoodKeyboard.jpg)