Amanda, thanks for introducing me to Caroline and her work. Greatly appreciated.
Caroline, I really enjoyed this. I spent the majority of my adult life in the U.S. Navy. I never had formal training as a writer. My degrees are in Criminal Justice and Management. But here I am, writing faithfully each week. I loved this quote you provided - “Can I be uncomfortable without it being a problem?” That really gets to the heart of it. Writing puts us in a place where being vulnerable is the norm. If I can learn to function in that environment then I can push forward with writing. Thanks again.
Delighted to meet you! I’m glad Amanda’s invite has connected us here.
It’s fascinating how much experience we can have that requires us to know how to write, and yet feel we don’t have training in it. I assume having criminal justice and management degrees requires you to write papers, right? All that experience transfers to writing and yet we don’t give ourselves credit for it. If we look, so many successful novelists begin as lawyers. That’s also training in language, even if it’s not a graduate degree in writing. Our experience is still valuable and between the navy and your education, not to mention life overall, it’s no wonder you’ve had something to share each week!
So glad you love that quote, too. Ruth King is a wonderful teacher and I think you’d enjoy her writing if that spoke to you.
Loved this piece! It's generous and wise of Amanda to find writers who share her literary values and highlight their words for her readers. That's integrity and strength of character! Thanks to you both!
I certainly relate to this post. For me, I started calling myself a writer once I had my first book accepted for publication (which happened just a few months ago). Without that, the question, "What have you written?" which so often follow "I am a writer," was too awkward.
This is so hard, agreed. That follow-up question is a shaky point for everyone who doesn’t have a book out yet. This fascinates me that we feel we have to justify what’s usually years of effort until there is a result to point to. I find it helps to put shorter pieces out along the way if that helps writers feel more confident. It has helped me to have online articles and other pieces before I had books to point to. But even so, I believe we are all truly writers as soon as we start writing. Whether anyone chooses to share that with everyone is entirely up to them.
This hits deeper into the insecurities of writers. We must consistently remind ourselves to push past perfection in order to find what's truly meaningful for us. This search isn't always perfect but necessary.
I also remember one of the first pieces of advice I was told was to drop the "aspiring" from anything you desire to be and just be. An a spiring writer is just a writer.
Such good advice. It’s funny how aspiring gets attached to creative fields exclusively, isn’t it? I have never heard someone call themselves an aspiring doctor or an aspiring banker. What is it that makes us see writing and the arts differently?
Not that I love the whole book, but I remember reading in "Atomic Habits" that people were more likely to complete behaviors associated with a title when they started calling themselves that title. Hence, when I finally gave myself permission to call myself 'writer,' I noticed I more fiercely defend my need to do that and hold myself more accountable. It doesn't matter so much if I wrote poorly or something profound (obviously preferred) -- but it did matter that I wrote. So when I say I'm a writer, I'm not lying!
Oooh- that’s a great reference. I had forgotten that detail in Atomic Habits. Agreed that the book has it’s shortcomings, but there are these bits that really help — thank you for sharing this!
This post is really helpful thank you. I’ve been really stuck trying to choose between different versions of my opening scenes. Hearing even a more experienced author wouldn’t know the “right” answer or if it’s any “good” gives me more confidence to trust my choices.
There isn’t a „right“ answer. I think this is why it feels so hard. But the one that feels best to you is the best you can do. I‘m glad you feel more confidence after reading this — your gut knows the way. 💗
Amanda, thanks for introducing me to Caroline and her work. Greatly appreciated.
Caroline, I really enjoyed this. I spent the majority of my adult life in the U.S. Navy. I never had formal training as a writer. My degrees are in Criminal Justice and Management. But here I am, writing faithfully each week. I loved this quote you provided - “Can I be uncomfortable without it being a problem?” That really gets to the heart of it. Writing puts us in a place where being vulnerable is the norm. If I can learn to function in that environment then I can push forward with writing. Thanks again.
Delighted to meet you! I’m glad Amanda’s invite has connected us here.
It’s fascinating how much experience we can have that requires us to know how to write, and yet feel we don’t have training in it. I assume having criminal justice and management degrees requires you to write papers, right? All that experience transfers to writing and yet we don’t give ourselves credit for it. If we look, so many successful novelists begin as lawyers. That’s also training in language, even if it’s not a graduate degree in writing. Our experience is still valuable and between the navy and your education, not to mention life overall, it’s no wonder you’ve had something to share each week!
So glad you love that quote, too. Ruth King is a wonderful teacher and I think you’d enjoy her writing if that spoke to you.
Loved this piece! It's generous and wise of Amanda to find writers who share her literary values and highlight their words for her readers. That's integrity and strength of character! Thanks to you both!
I'm so happy to meet you, and look forward to getting to know this beautiful community Amanda has built better. It's an honor to be here!
I certainly relate to this post. For me, I started calling myself a writer once I had my first book accepted for publication (which happened just a few months ago). Without that, the question, "What have you written?" which so often follow "I am a writer," was too awkward.
This is so hard, agreed. That follow-up question is a shaky point for everyone who doesn’t have a book out yet. This fascinates me that we feel we have to justify what’s usually years of effort until there is a result to point to. I find it helps to put shorter pieces out along the way if that helps writers feel more confident. It has helped me to have online articles and other pieces before I had books to point to. But even so, I believe we are all truly writers as soon as we start writing. Whether anyone chooses to share that with everyone is entirely up to them.
This hits deeper into the insecurities of writers. We must consistently remind ourselves to push past perfection in order to find what's truly meaningful for us. This search isn't always perfect but necessary.
I also remember one of the first pieces of advice I was told was to drop the "aspiring" from anything you desire to be and just be. An a spiring writer is just a writer.
Such good advice. It’s funny how aspiring gets attached to creative fields exclusively, isn’t it? I have never heard someone call themselves an aspiring doctor or an aspiring banker. What is it that makes us see writing and the arts differently?
Not that I love the whole book, but I remember reading in "Atomic Habits" that people were more likely to complete behaviors associated with a title when they started calling themselves that title. Hence, when I finally gave myself permission to call myself 'writer,' I noticed I more fiercely defend my need to do that and hold myself more accountable. It doesn't matter so much if I wrote poorly or something profound (obviously preferred) -- but it did matter that I wrote. So when I say I'm a writer, I'm not lying!
Oooh- that’s a great reference. I had forgotten that detail in Atomic Habits. Agreed that the book has it’s shortcomings, but there are these bits that really help — thank you for sharing this!
This post is really helpful thank you. I’ve been really stuck trying to choose between different versions of my opening scenes. Hearing even a more experienced author wouldn’t know the “right” answer or if it’s any “good” gives me more confidence to trust my choices.
Great to hear this helped you!
There isn’t a „right“ answer. I think this is why it feels so hard. But the one that feels best to you is the best you can do. I‘m glad you feel more confidence after reading this — your gut knows the way. 💗