Do you really want to be a writer: a self-test

By Dennis Mellersh

Many people say they want to be a writer and that they want to write a book; but how many people make the commitment to activate that desire and make becoming a writer a reality?

The prime requirement for becoming a writer is to put in the necessary time and write something every day, or almost every day.

I am not talking about the equally important requirements of taking writing courses, or reading and studying books on the craft of writing, or attending workshops for writers; or doing the research for whatever you want to write about.

I’m talking about sitting down every day with your computer or tablet (with word-processing software) or if you prefer, paper and pen or pencil (if you want to handwrite your draft) and writing a few hundred words every day.

If you are not willing to do that, you don’t really want to be a writer; you really want to find a shortcut that will magically show you how to become a writer in the shortest time possible.

However, there are no shortcuts to becoming a writer. You can write some types of books in a short time (if you already know how to write), but you cannot “become a writer” in a short period of time.

“Wanting to” requires “doing” the writing.

And that’s the self-test. How much have you written each day for the past two weeks?

If the answer is nothing or very little, then you should reassess the strength of your motivation and if you still want to be a writer, make a schedule for writing something every day.