From The Heart

When I wake up, I reach for my pen with a smile knowing that I will do my best to write today. I sense the world around me, and I look through my mind's eye searching for a story.

I believe that everyone has a story to tell, but there is only me that can tell mine.

My life today is happily filled with pen, paper, books, and a vivid imagination (just read my fiction!) and there is nothing better that I love hearing than the musical beat of tap, tap, tapping as I pour my heart out through my keyboard and type those words onto the screen that will become my next story.

Who knows what I might write next? Even Vocal can't predict what to expect from me, especially when I have a 'story-overload' where the stories just pop out of my head without me having to think about them.

My writing isn't always as spontaneous as it has been recently. I have spurts where there are days when the stories just flow, and then there are days when I work on my chapter stories and I have to take time before publishing.

One thing is for certain; Writing has changed my life dramatically, and that comes from the heart that smiles every day that I write.

Before I became a writer, I was that lonely young woman who thought that she couldn't do anything write. I'd often get stressed out with everything, and think I was useless at everything.

I am a survivor of an abusive past, but I won't write about that here. I have written enough stories about that, and I'm making progress with my healing.

The one special moment for me was when I woke up from my very dark world and realized that I was capable of putting a positive light on my future through writing.

I don't think much about the trauma today. It is still there, but I have developed the motivation to move forward.

My life has changed, and it's exciting and overwhelming at times; Though each day I wake up, the sun shines even when it is dark, and I can hear the birds sing even when it is throwing it down.

I no longer see my writing as just something that I do. It is the fire in my heart and the song in my soul; it is now seen as my budding career, unfolding bit by bit in front of me.

It is progress with every word, every story, and every keystroke.

Fiction? Poetry? An article? A horror? A fun short piece? A serious piece? You name it, there is nothing I won't challenge myself to.

Writing isn't the only thing that has changed.

I have changed too.

I stand up for myself, I'm confident, my self-esteem is buzzing, and I will challenge myself to get through even the hardest of days.

And, I love going out again; especially to find new stories and adventures.

I feel that I have grown more and matured more since I became a writer. The cognitive processes involved in using my brain to write, and the absorbing of information that I have researched and read to write other things away from the computer have changed many of the old negative perceptions that I had on life.

I sit and write for hours, but one thing that stands out is I can be very patient and resilient when I have to manage other responsibilities around working.

I have never been much of a routine person, but I can handle more personal responsibility and household tasks much better than I could before.

I am passionate about my work, and in return that has taught me to be passionate about other things in my life.

It has taught me about priorities, and I have done a mental clearout so that I can clearly see what is important, and what isn't.

I have a lot of motivation, and while I do get out of bed; I can also allow myself guilt-free lie-ins on a weekend, which is something I could not do before.

Writing has taught me to stop punishing myself over self-care. I take breaks from housework and I say no to things that I have no time for.

I can drop laundry for another day when I am busy. I was never able to do that in the past.

I can also have guilt-free days off, and on those days I spend time taking photographs and visiting the beach, or yes! shopping.

All while keeping my priorities and work tasks in mind.

My life is less stressful and more fun.

Writing is life-changing, not just because it teaches you to write; but also because it makes you look at the way you do things, question the negative thoughts in your life, and because you need to make time to do it, it teaches you to say no to time-wasting and be more responsible for yourself. These are things you need to be aware of if you are going to achieve a career in writing.

I have my career as a writer to thank for that, and that comes from the heart.

Don't let anybody tell you that you can't turn it into a career. I spoke to someone recently who works at a benefits agency in the U.K.

He said:

'If you put the work in, you can turn it into a career that pays.'

(anonymous)

Recently I have made some progress with my work, and my life.

The future is mine, and I'm going to grab it while I can.