You really are!
And I am too. It took a long time for me to claim the description. I was never as artistic as my mother, who always made my elementary school projects look better. I was the least artistic of my sisters. My drawings were always a little out of proportion, and my lines were never as strong as I would have liked. It took a devastating loss that led me, in desperation, to a writing workshop on grief, to set me on the path to calling myself an artist.
Writing is art. And you are a writer. (And I was never the best in math either, but that sounds like 1+1=2 to me.) You are an artist.
Is there a voice in your head right now saying “But I’m not a writer. Not a real writer….”? I’ve heard that voice too. Here’s the wisdom I learned in my first writing workshop: A writer is someone who writes. Whether you write journal entries, articles for work, emails to family, or texts to a friend – it all counts. Writers write.
“Whether your purpose for writing is artistic expression, communication with friends and family, the healing of the inner life, or achieving public recognition for your art — the foundation is the same: the claiming of yourself as an artist/writer and the strengthening of your writing voice through practice, study, and helpful response from other writers.”
Pat Schneider, Writing Alone and with Others
This summer, I’m working my way through Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way.” I’ve tried it before on my own, but never got much beyond the first chapter. This time I’m in an online group of other writers engaging with it together, and that has made all the difference. I’m writing regularly again, and making space for the shy artist inside me, and it’s because I’m doing the solitary work alongside others – a whole group of artists also claiming the title. The community is what has given me the courage to commit to my art, and show up on the page every day.
“But do you know how old I will be by the time I learn to really play the piano / act / paint / write a decent play?”
Yes . . . the same age you will be if you don’t.”
Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Here’s my best advice: Find others with whom to write. An online community. A writing group. A friend or two. Or join me in a weekly writing prompt you can use on your own schedule. We’ll be writing together. You and me. Both artists at work.
