“Don’t be ‘a writer,’ be writing.” William Faulkner

“Writing teaches writing.” John McPhee

Some more words of wisdom about putting pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard from “The Mindful Writer” by Dinty Moore:

“How doe I become a better writer?”

“Just write.”

“And then what?”

“Keep writing.”

“And then eventually …”

“You write.”

“Until?”

“Until you have written something.”

“Then what?”

“You get up out of bed the next morning and write some more.”

Simple, but not easy, I know. We often want to think of writing as a gift, a calling. But it’s also a craft. And, as with any craft,” from woodworking to paper making, it takes practice: Doing it, then doing it some more. And then some more.

Think of a gem of a sentence you read recently by a writer you admire. What went into the polishing of that gem? What words were pruned away? What words were added or changed to make that sentence sing and dance?

Sometimes, it’s true, those gems just drop from our hearts and hand onto the page. When this happens, it’s a gift from the universe. But such gifts, in my experience, only come to me when I’ve put in the time. When we show up, we signal to the muse that we are ready to work. And that’s when the muse rewards us.

So let’s remember today that the more we write, the more of a writer we become. Write on!

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