#28: How to Be a Writer

“Langston Hughes said a dream deferred “dries up, like a raisin in the sun.” It atrophies, in other words, just like an unused limb.

A dream lived, however, a dream that gets daily workouts, becomes stronger with every passing day.

More beautiful. More healthy from the exercise. More sustaining. — Barbara Sher, I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was

Do you aspire to be a writer?

Every day, write a thousand words, or a hundred, or just 10. No matter the number of words or hours or pages you choose, commit to it and show up at your desk—every dawn or dusk or midnight.

Write when the words are flowing out of you like wine gracefully poured on a glass.

Write when you can't put your finger on what you're trying to say.

Write when you're free, write when you're busy.

Write when you're happy, and write even when you're lonely.

Do this and before you know it, you'll feel more like a writer.

Because when you practice and put pen to paper every day, you, my friend, are a writer.

It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to try to write one page per day.

But if you write a page a day for a month, and you have 30 pages. Enough for a chapter. If you write a page a day for a year, you end up with 365 pages. Enough to fill a novel.

This is the best way I know to go from nothing to something. — Austin Kleon

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Hi, and thanks for reading! I'm Kishly, a cheerleader of creatives and copywriter turned marketing strategist. Bookmark this blog to read my daily atomic essays on marketing, compassionate productivity, creative living, and lifelong learning. Or subscribe to Process, my weekly-ish newsletter for young adults (and the young at heart) in pursuit of wisdom and wonder. ✨