A Writer is the Sum of His Experiences
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Being an author can be a challenging undertaking that leaves you vulnerable if you are truly honest with your words.
I wish I could remember where I read this quote before, but I remember reading once that “the job of the artist is difficult because you bare your soul to the world only to be judged.”
Though one’s writing is often judged by strangers, I often find myself judging the writing of my past. It is a habit I need to stop because I should be proud of how my craft has evolved throughout the years. When I read some of the writing I produced in my earlier years as an author, I find pieces that I still love and others that do not feel like me at all. Sometimes, it even feels as if someone else had written some of my books.
For a long time, I avoided reading my past works.
However, every once in a while, I take some moments to go back and read the voice of my younger years to remind myself how much I’ve grown not only in my writing but also as a person. I have always told myself that I want to write so that I can leave a record of my life and the lessons I have learned along the way and be able to pass them along to those that come after me. Seeing my growth through my writing is a reminder that I am slowly but surely achieving that goal, and I know it will be an emotional and exciting day whenever my future kids and grandkids read my words for the first time and ask me about them.
I will tell them that throughout all my stories and experiences, I have guided my life through one major principle: live a life worth writing about.
I have traveled across the United States and visited multiple other countries. I served in the Marine Corps for five years. I got married to a kind and beautiful woman. And now, I am on a new journey, serving as a Police Officer. I will tell my children that my life has felt like an adventure because I have purposely lived it in a way that allows me to serve others. And through those experiences, I have been inspired to write so much.
Right now, I’m preparing to release my eighth book, Salvation: Poems on Finding Love Again. After reading some of my older writing, I believe this book contains some of my most intimate and honest poems. However, I would not have been able to produce this new poetry collection had I not persevered with my writing every day or had I given up on myself after judging my previous work too harshly.
For new writers, I have a very cliché piece of advice.
Keep on writing even when you think it is terrible. One does not prepare to run a marathon in a day. It takes a lot of consistent work, but it pays off in the long run (no pun intended). It takes time to find the unique voice within you.
Now, I’ll leave you with another piece of advice that hopefully isn’t as cliché.
A long time ago, I watched a movie called Stuck in Love, and though I can’t remember what it was entirely about, I do remember something that one of the characters said: “I am not a great writer. I am a great rewriter.” That line stuck with me. The character in the movie meant that he wasn’t great at coming up with ideas for his writing out of the blue. Instead, he was great at being inspired by the experiences that he had in his life and deemed they were worth writing about.
So, with that being said, a writer is the sum of his experiences, the good and bad. If you’re having trouble finding inspiration, go live a little more. Find something you love doing. Find somewhere new to travel to. Find someone to love deeply. Forget about writing for the sake of just writing; the right words will surely come.
Resources for Writers
If you are struggling to find your voice as a writer, I offer several free resources when you join my newsletter, including a copy of my professionally developed writing guide, 15 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block. I also include an exclusive free digital copy of my collection of published love letters, Red Magic: Love Letters for a Soulmate. The book also includes reflection questions that serve as writing prompts to help you explore what it means to live and love.
Finally, because I believe in the immense power of poetry, I took the skills I have learned throughout a decade of writing and shared them in my online course, Becoming a Poet: A Course to Unlock Your Writing Potential. This course will help you discover your voice as a unique poet by learning to write impactful poetry using effective strategies to find inspiration and craft evocative imagery.
I love helping new writers achieve their goals, so please don’t pass up these resources.
Discover your voice as a unique poet by learning to write impactful poetry using effective strategies to find inspiration and craft evocative imagery.
