Being Dyslexic and Pursuing a Career in Writing: My Journey So Far

There is always a little spark of fear when accepting a new job where I know I am going to be writing content. Despite my love of writing, I am overwhelmingly self-conscious of my dyslexia, and what others may think of my work in light of it.

Will they sit there and think, ‘This is amazing for a dyslexic’? Or will they question how much responsibility to give me, standing in hushed circles saying, ‘We must ensure to double check her work’. If anything the first of these possibilities is the worst.

Being judged as good only against what others believe I should not be able to achieve is a constellation prize to being considered good against everyone else’s standards. Though, of course, it is my own self-conscious thinking that puts me here, and no one will ever be able to convince me of my own worth without me questioning the reality behind it in this way.

The game for dyslexics is certainly changing. We are hearing more and more voices speak up, showing that there are no real barriers if you try hard enough. Success stories for dyslexics in writing are aplenty, and the need for such concerns about not being able to make a career due to the condition are being pushed out of society’s opinion, which should of course alleviate most fears.

Then again after 18 years of undiagnosed dyslexia, 18 years of being considered ‘slow’, amongst other unsightly words, by peers, teachers, friends, family and friend’s parents alike, shaking off such concerns about what people think of me and my work capabilities has not been so easy.

Engrained are the voices that tell me of my incapability. It is in spite of them, and all the anxiety they foster, that I have strove forward with writing. Not to prove that I can, but because I must. Writing, reading, these things that are so difficult for me, are the only things in this world I can honestly say I love to do.

Since I was small, and could neither read or write, the love of hearing stories, of making them up, of reporting on the events around me thrived. By the age of 11, thanks to an inspired school project, I had written my first short novel, and had invested my life in pursuing the career.

Along the way, both before being diagnosed and after, I had help from some great people. People who saw in me the spark and passion of writing and fostered it, helping that love to flourish into a skill. Against them, however, worked the voices of people who do not understand, neither the passion nor the dyslexia, in the face of a writing career.

The most harmful of these people consisted a school guidance councillor and later in University a tutor who strongly believed my disability should bar me from the profession. The tutor set me back the most, unlike the guidance councillor who thought me ‘slow’, the tutor knew my diagnosis, and mocked me in front of classes because of it.

It is the voices of these people, the ones who have limited views, which we must buck against. Their words must be pushed from the mind, their scorn thrown back. Where possible we must surround ourselves only with those who see our spark.

I know that I am not alone in my experience, and that compared to many I have been lucky in it, but I do believe that together, with our shared stories we can prove to the world that dyslexia really is no bar to writing, to a passion of reading.

Over the past five years of seriously building my career I have grown in confidence. Published articles in newspapers and online bearing my name give me a grounding thrill. My published stories, and competition nominations strengthen my resolve.

I have learnt over these seven years that although the fear of what people will think of my work is strongest in my mind, it is the evidence of my success, the proof of my work and the stories I have successfully told, that matter.

From one dyslexic striving to live by writing to all others, make your work shine, believe in the stories you write about and your judgment of the ones you read. If you allow your passion to take the lead, over your logical mind and self-conscious thoughts, you may just find your spark shines brightly enough to burn away the fears.