Blog: Being brave enough to try...

For those of you who know me well, it will be no surprise to learn that I also love to write. Books are such a huge part of my life and I think it is only natural to feel the yearning to see my own words join the ranks. But yet when someone asks me about writing, my immediate answer is always to say - 'No I'm not a writer. Maybe someday.' I sit down and write regularly, yet because I don't have a published book, it never occurs to me to consider myself a writer. So that leads me to this question - What makes you a writer? Is it when you win a competition? Or get an agent? Is it only when you receive a publishing deal? Or self-publish? At what point do you feel that yes, I am a writer. I think the answer to this question is different for everyone.
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​Now don't get me wrong, I hope to one day have an agent and see my books out there in the great wide world. But as I sat down yesterday at my computer with a blank screen in front of me, with my kids playing in the background, and began to type the words that were swirling inside my head, I decided it was time to claim the title. And it was an exciting and scary feeling. I'm doing it. I am writing a story. Characters that I dream about are now coming alive through my words, and even if it never becomes the success I hope it will be, I am still a writer. Because at the end of the day I need to write the jumbled plot lines that race through my head at any given moment. I need to write the words that flare to life when I hear a particular song that brings just the right emotion to a scene. I need to do this. But above all, to be a writer, I need to be brave enough to try - and, for me, it starts with claiming the title. 

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