Recently, a fan of CLG Entertainment and The Write Life for You articles I write contacted me. The fan, a writer, asked, “How do you know if you have the talent to pursue writing? Words have always had a powerful pull on me, but I don’t know if I can actually write … Do you have medicine for my affliction?”

I wanted to share my response because I think it might be beneficial to those of you out there feeling, thinking the same thing.

You know, the need to pursue writing often comes before one even KNOWS if he or she has talent. It comes from a desire, a need to express something. The fact that you’re pulled to write is BIG. For me, writing was always a NEED. Started writing when I was 10, and it was all about looking at the world and writing what interest me, then what I didn’t understand, then what I hated, then what I wanted to be made right, and on and on.

That pull to write is important because it will warm your heart when you’re rejected, it will urge you on when you receive criticism, and it will move you to want to learn so that you can better your craft.

First and foremost, I think you need to KEEP the pull. Recognize it. Communicate with it. Nurture it.

Allow the pull to keep you writing.

As you write, think about what you seem “called” to write about. This calling isn’t set in stone, but it’s a great place to begin to think about who you are as a writer and what you hope to convey in your writing.

As you write, READ. Read works you deem “good,” and be able to illustrate to yourself why they are good and what you can glean from these findings for your own writing.

As you write, READ. Read works you deem “bad,” and be able to illustrate to yourself why they might be bad and what you can glean from these findings for your own writing.

As you write, READ. Read works about writing, especially those books that delve into the issues you find you make consistently in your work. You want as many tools in your writer’s toolbox as possible.

Connect with other writers, especially those willing to read and critique your work. It’s important to know what you want to get out of a critique group and what you can bring to that group; you do not just want to jump into a group and wallow within it. And be open to constructive criticism.

And almost as important as your writing these days is your platform – who you are, what you stand for, how your writing reflects this, who you connect with, network with, how you BRAND yourself.

But ultimately, I think it is about the PULL. If you don’t feel moved to write, who will be compelled to read WHAT you write?

Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Digg This Post Stumble This Post

Shon Bacon is a life writer for women.  She doesn’t come to the page thinking genre, but thinking “What facet of life burns in me to write today?”  And it’s not just any life that fascinates her; it is the life of the broken woman, the hurting woman that sparks her to write.  Why?  Because the journey of overcoming fascinates Shon.  A broken relationship.  A broken job.  A broken friendship.  A broken family.  A broken heart, soul, spirit – they are all things that can fester and kill or be mended and healed.  And the journey it takes for the broken woman to reach her overcoming moment is one Shon’s willing to cry through to see the broken woman to her end – whether it’s happily or not-so-happily ever after.  She writes these stories, these life stories for the broken woman because she knows what it’s like to be a broken woman; in fact, she still struggles to mend the parts of herself that are broken, and in writing these stories, she hopes to – in some way – help the mending process for herself and for other women.

Read my short article on writing a mission statement and share yours @ Blogging in Black!

Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Digg This Post Stumble This Post

Come check me out at BLOGGING IN BLACK [LINK] today for my short reflection piece, WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE?

Recently, I was interviewed by my publisher, Lady Leo Publishing, and in the interview, I was asked, “Who/what inspired you to write?” My response was three-fold – life inspires me to write; what I fear inspires me to write; what I don’t know inspires me to write.

@ BiB today, I go into a bit of detail as I talk about each of these three inspirations.

To read my piece, head to Blogging in Black [http://www.blogginginblack.com] and LEAVE YOUR OWN THOUGHTS!

Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Digg This Post Stumble This Post