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The World of a Writer
by Arleen M. Kaptur

Writing is compared to almost every other activity. Some say it's like trekking through a jungle of wild publishers and editors. Others claim it's very similar to climbing up a mountain of rejection and hoping you don't fall into despair. Then there's the opinion that all authors are driven, compulsive, and very uncooperative. Now, in all honesty, none of us are even closely related to any of the stereo-types that some have of writers.

In reality, we are just ordinary people who have been given a talent to use the written word to reach others, entertain, educate and persuade. Many times we do have passion for what we are doing, schedules and rejections do get you down, and discipline is always a problem. If there were no books, articles, news items, or other related writing, people would still be drawing stick figures on cave walls and hoping for the best. Man has evolved into an intelligent, caring, and curious being who enjoys reading about remote places, stories that he/she can relate to, and fact sheets on subjects that range from A to Z. People love to read and writers love to write what they read. When you put your words on paper, you are stepping into the literary world and hoping for the best. You have a deep feeling that you have something to say and that the world would be better off if you share it. You definitely want to reach out and touch others with your tales, your knowledge, research or ability to put into words what others are thinking and doing.

Writers have an uncanny ability to put faces on their characters and words in their mouths. We give them new worlds to explore and live in. There are challenges that affect them and solutions that help them. Books can take you through someone's entire life or just into one day. They can keep you on the edge of your seat, or help you make an important decision. Writing is not for everyone but reading is. Even writers need to read everything they can to expand their interests, help them achieve new levels of understanding, and assist them into tapping into lives they never understood before.

Writing is a blessing and a curse. We can help others grow and relate. Through what we write we can give them knowledge, information, inspiration, and insight. However, writing can cause you sleepless nights and daytime nightmares. You worry about your finished product and you languish over getting it to its final stages. There are rewrites and there are rewrites that rewrite over the rewrites. Your mind is racing through possibilities and circumstances. People fascinate you, nature intrigues you, and everything around you is alive and vivid. Wherever you go, you see stories, and your thoughts take you millions of miles away, or sometimes just down the road.

Writers are always wishing on a far away star, or hanging their dream on a publisher's needs. They try and capture that elusive theme while trying to juggle family and personal needs. Many times money stands in the way, yet that too can be turned into a novel. We found the pot of gold in our talent, but we don't quite know how best to use each coin. Gremlins taunt us into quitting or slowing down and yet heavenly inspiration hands us more paper and pens. We are understood by our fellow writers but we confuse those closest to us. Some people regard writing as a career while financial institutions raise an eyebrow. We can see visions of our future but today's chapter takes all our energy.

So, why should anyone follow their dream to write? Why wouldn't you? Only writers can turn ink on paper into a loving character with problems and solutions. We can create a better world if the one we have doesn't fit our needs. There is no limit to our possibilities, but only to our degree of perseverance. We can climb mountains but it's those darn daily foothills of time restraints. Writers swim the oceans of the world, but we find trouble paddling our way through puddles of commitments and interruptions. We have the corral, but find it hard to get all our horses together and functioning. The world is our playground, but we cry when someone misunderstands our sand castles.

The only way out of this dilemma of being a writer is simply to write. Follow what is given to you as a gift, and accept the responsibility and the opportunities. The world is your oyster, and someday the pearls will form a beautiful necklace of published words and name recognition. It's your world, and you are the only one at the wheel. Take it where you want it to go and have an acceptance speech ready for that Nobel Prize. Someday is just around tomorrow and today is one step behind the future.

Copyright © 2002 Arleen M. Kaptur

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