Am I a writer or a Writer?

I once heard that most people don’t want to be a writer. They want to already be a writer. Confused? I was until I took the time to really think about the people who tell me they would like to write. Most people only dream about writing that novel, they never actually get around to doing it. (Or worse, actually write the thing and never show it to anyone.) It was then I realized there was a difference between being a writer and being a Writer.

For me, it wasn’t just waking up one day and deciding I wanted to write. I’ve been working at it since I learned how to string words together. 

When I was little, I used to dream about walking into a bookstore and seeing my name in big bold letters across the front of a book. I had pieces of paper scattered everywhere; little scribbles and notes, ideas and places, scenes I couldn’t get out of my head. Spiral notebooks and pads of paper packed with every misadventure I could think of. They were jammed in my books, penciled down in the margins of what I was supposed to be studying, even on gum wrappers stuck in my coat or pants pockets. (I wonder how many of those went through the washing machine?)

I think I was in the third or fourth grade when I started to make a conscious effort to string those little bits together and came up with a story. As far as school assignments go, “Smokey the Cow Horse” was far from unique-I don’t know how many eight or nine-year-olds can sit down and write a story without any outside influence. This one was no exception. But we all have to start somewhere.

Now, here I am a few years later (Okay more than a few) and I’m staring at the dusty, weed choked, cracked, and not too wide road I want to follow. I want to be a writer. But I want to be more than just a writer. I want to be a publisher writer. No, I want to be an “Author” and have people read and enjoy my thoughts and stories, but mostly, I want some room in my head. I don’t know if other people have a head full of characters wanting their stories told, but I do.

My road is far from easy, and I know there is a chance I won’t make much from it, but I have to try. And that’s the most important difference between being a writer and wanting to be a writer.

I won’t give up on my dream and I hope you don’t either. After all, shooting for the moon isn’t impossible and if you miss, well you can enjoy the star light, too.

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Remember always keep reaching.