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Sputtering To Become A Writer by Willie Carter
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Sputtering To Become A Writer |
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Education
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I love writing but it has always been in spurts. I won a short story contest in a newspaper once. I wrote a column about crazy driving in South Florida that got published and another column about changes in my profession. All this over a span of about 15 years so you can see that every five years I indulge the urge to write, hardly prolific. About two years ago a friend gave me a copy of "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron and I started doing 'morning pages'. This is Ms. Cameron's way of priming the creative pump by writing everyday nonstop for three pages. I was surprised with the occasional flash of originality but then quickly felt pressure to do something with those ideas so instead morning pages became 'once in a while' pages but I was amazed at how much I enjoyed the process and I thought more about why I resisted writing. I bought a notebook with smaller pages but kept writing. Next I invested in two books "Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out" by Ralph Fletcher and "The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets" by Ted Kooser. Both these books are light hearted and easy to read. They helped me start to pay attention to interesting word combinations, meaningful metaphors and playful use of language. I highly recommend them to develop a greater appreciation of poetry. I also bought Mary Pipher's book 'Writing to Change the World'. Like me Ms. Pipher is a psychotherapist as well as a writer who uses her wonderful voice to share ideas, a voice you want to listen to. I wondered if I could make a difference with my writing voice. Could I write an interesting short story for the literacy student I tutor? Could I write a poem that described the beauty of the healing process when I witness an abundance of joy return to a person's life? Could I write to change people's perspective on the possibility of acceptance and transformation? So I tried it and sent a poem to Peppertree Press that produces a local paper of writing in Sarasota and they printed it! I tried the short story but that was dull as mud. It is a true gift to be able to write fiction that I just don't have. Well, maybe not yet. Then I received an e-mail from another therapist, William Anderson, with a link to an online article on weight loss which is his specialty. The article was good but what was this world of online magazines? Poking around their website I found a friendly site encouraging me to write something about what I know. So how did I want to change the world? My specialty is Dissociative Identity Disorder and I wanted people to better understand the continuum of post traumatic stress disorder and DID. It's more common than therapists and psychiatrists believe but it is often missed which leads to years of misdiagnosis and chaos in clients' lives. If I could help a client appreciate how they used dissociation to survive childhood abuse or help a family member understand the logical but strange behavior of their relative and even better raise the awareness of mental health professionals so they could provide effective treatment then I would have done my little part to change the world. I'm the type that percolates ideas and then suddenly wakes in the morning knowing how the whole article should be. Out popped several articles that I submitted online and each was accepted. What fun it was to see my articles in print and watch the increasing number of views in the author reports. I was off and running. I know you serious writers are saying that this isn't about fun but about driving traffic to your website or displaying your expertise. I get that but, really, with a global audience I'm not likely to pick up too many clients wanting to travel to Florida for a session but I have been inspired to buy a webcam and explore the world of online coaching. I add links to my articles on my website and use the statistics to see which topics are popular. Two articles on procrastination and laziness have done well. Should I be surprised? It has only taken me twenty years to take my own writing seriously. EzineArticles is one such organization that continues to encourage me with writing tips, author case studies and helpful hints. I love that stuff. It's like having my own mentor who coaches me along with never a word of exasperation. So start carrying a small notebook with you and writing down thoughts and observations where ever you are. Make it part of your life to think in terms of sharing your written voice with an audience. Use a blog to make your writing public. Identify a small way to encourage others and you will get past the sputtering and enjoy the ride. asia essays
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