When is a writer not a writer? Answer: never!

As it happens, I'm a published writer of nursing magazine articles, both for a weekly and also a quarterly glossy, as well as a little poetry.  Some of these works earned me a few quid, others I did to help out a friend for a cause.  But, even if I'd never have been paid in the past, I'd still consider myself a writer.  Others I know get all snobby about who is to be considered a real writer, often getting hung up on being published or receiving payment as a mark of acceptance into their supposedly rarefied world. 

Well, I've got news for anybody who stops going as far as picking up a pen or switching on a computer because of such irritating views.  If you write, you're a writer, whether you write just for pleasure or, if you're lucky enough, for profit.  We all have things we'd like to say, how dare anybody curb our ambition!

So, folks out their in the ether, get writing whatever it is that floats your boat.  Stop making up excuses like you're spelling or grammar are poor; you're too old, or too young, or you are afraid others will think you're less than able.  Well, more news for the detractors, we were all beginners at one time or other.  

I have always gained much encouragement from others during my writing career.  Even the smallest of comments has lifted me at times.  But, with equal effect, I've dropped into a darker place when I've read words which castigate my efforts as less than worthy.

Please know that even a one word thought is worthy if you've set it down. Follow that with more words and you're on your way.  Don't let anybody stop you from being creative.  If all you ever do is file your words away in a journal, in a box of papers or rip them up to start anew, you've made a start.  You don't have to begin with the aim of getting published or paid though, right now, that is my aim for my novel.  But, I also write for pleasure, for myself, to express my love for my loved ones, to get things off my chest or just to clear my head.  Sometimes, the latter is the best reason to write anyway.

Imagine being told that you couldn't express yourself in other ways - no painting unless you've already been accepted by a gallery; no instrument playing or singing unless you've got a record deal lined up; no cooking unless you're a buddy of a Michelin-starred chef!  The outcry at anybody trying to intimidate folks to not even begin would appear ludicrous.  Why should it be any less so for writers?

If you are in the closet with your writing, keep on writing.  If you need some encouragement to come out, know that we are together in a huge majority that believes writers are people that write because we can.  We don't need anybody's permission to express ourselves, we certainly don't need their money or their approval.  We write because we are humans and that's what we can do, given the opportunity.  Writers of the world unite!

Oh, and by the way, next time I'm going to write about seeking your limits, but not necessarily going beyond them.  Interested, then come back and join me for a cyber cuppa.  Cheerio for now!