As a creative writing teacher, my main goal is to help students deconstruct the writing process--to break free from the structures that society works so hard to ingrain in our heads--this is how it is done--follow these rules and you can be a good writer too. During this process, there are two things we work on. First, trusting what you have to say--trusting that the voice in your head and the emotions you have coursing through your body are worthy of the written word, whether you share it or keep it for yourself. Second, if you like to write, if you take the time to write, at any level--journaling, blogging, poetry, stories, no matter how rudimentary or polished--know that you are a writer. You do not have to be published. You do not have to be the best in the world or even the best in the room. If you write, you are a writer.
That second point became more evident as I finished my first two novel-length manuscripts and began the search for a path to publishing. I heard many hard-lined thoughts about what I was and what my writing was as I read blogs, listened to podcasts, and received rejection after rejection from both publishers and literary agents. I had to find ways to move forward, learn from what I was hearing, but also take it all with a grain of salt. So, what do the experts tell me that I am? What do they tell me my finished novels are? Since I am not published, I am not an author. And, since my books aren't published, my books aren't books, they are merely the makings of or the words that may become, but they are not books. The professionals call them manuscripts, the bare bones of what could become a future novel if someone is gracious enough to grant me the opportunity.
I have now written three novel-length manuscripts, and, as I said, I have learned to take the experts' opinions with a grain of salt. So, I will continue to write. Because I am an author and I have written three novels.
