Just Write, Just Do It

We may not think we can write, whether prose or poetry, and I see so many excellent writers on Vocal that I think maybe I should just give up. Few of my pieces top a thousand words, but here is the thing….

My writing is almost always something different, I like to put a lateral or tangential slant on things, but what this means is that because it is anything but mainstream, maybe people just skip past it and don’t read, and a writer wants to be read.

But here is the other thing, if I don’t write it then probably nobody else will. I don’t have to be scared I am plagiarising anyone, and if anyone does read my writing they will probably find out something they never knew and hopefully get a new experience.

I know people suffering from writer's block or just unable to write and that happens to me at times and I have my ways around it.

But if you are unsure of yourself just start writing either with pen and paper, or a typewriter or a computer keyboard. Remember you don’t have to publish it, but if you do you will probably find an audience for your words. Then when that happens your confidence will build.

Last year I was reigning back my writing on my Seven Days In blog and then I joined Vocal and published almost four hundred stories, many only got a few reads but my directory of all my writing has topped 200. although it is just a directory and that idea has been picked up by others and I assume got them plenty of attention, certainly seen a lot of compliments for others directories and it makes me happy that they took an idea of mine and ran with it, they just did it.

I speak with lots of people who read my work and then say they can’t write, I coax them into maybe a poem or give them a few words to set them off and usually, that does it, maybe it’s just someone actually taking an interest in you that can actually spark your creative process, it has certainly happened in the past and I hope it continues to happen.

People are very positive about a lot of my work and I am eternally grateful for that, I really didn’t expect to come this far, but the thing that probably really kicked me off were two tips from Call Me Les which really made me feel appreciated and that my writing was actually worth reading.

Thinking this a little further I often tip new writers in the hope that will encourage them to feel appreciated and to write more and hope others do this as well although sometimes people may not know how to respond.

So if you think you can’t write, YOU CAN. You may go through lots of drafts, you may get someone to proofread your writing (I am not that great because I just see the positives but will spot errors and other issues), but you can do it.

Anyone can write because we all have a head full of words waiting to pour out. Some people are more ordered than others, certainly more ordered than me, but that is fine if we were all the same life would be very very boring.

So seriously, if you read this, please write something and share it however you can, on Vocal or Medium or just in a Facebook post or anywhere else you can think of.

I know I’ve appropriated Nike’s mission statement but:

Just Write, Just Do It