This is my favorite time of the year—a time to reflect and give thanks. This season reinforces how lucky I am to be a writer. It doesn’t matter if you’ve published or not. Pause for a moment and think about all that is great about being a writer.
Every day, we have a laser focus on our surroundings. There’s a story behind every bush, building, and mountain. We look at bars, churches, and the kitchen different from anyone else. We look for meaning behind the lost glove on the street.
Even when we try to NOT pay attention, we can’t help ourselves. We continually look at our experiences to help us develop story ideas and plots. We see beauty in the smallest things. We conjure entire worlds while examining a snowflake. For this, I give thanks.
Imagine—we’re able to enter the darkest places, encounter the most evil people and return to embrace life and our beautiful surroundings. We invent the perfect romance and proceed to shatter the relationships with disease, violence, or just plain apathy. Once we’re done, we get to return to our own loving family or friends as if nothing ever happened.
Some would say this is a curse. Ha! Not a chance. Few people in this world recognize the gift that we’ve received. Sure there are millions of “indie” writers out there that publish a pile of garbage. So what? When writing calls, writers answer.
Take time and give thanks that we are ones that have the privilege of making sense of our surroundings. We’re the ones that find the hidden stories and make up a few on the way. Even when we don’t hit our word counts or even look at a blank page for a month, we still return to writing … because we can. Wait … not because we can … because we must.
I give thanks because I have found this gift. Who else gets to do what they love and share it with the world? Very few people. I don’t care how much money I make or how many reviews I get—to me writing is about giving back to the universe. It’s about sharing with the 7.1 billion people in the world. No one really knows how many writers there are in the world. If there are roughly 100 million writers worldwide, then we are less than 1.5% of the population.
As you enter this holiday season, don’t worry about all the garbage writers in the world or the one-star review. Embrace everything that is special about being a writer. You are special. The world needs you. The world needs your thoughts and stories. The world needs writers. The world needs books to make you cry, laugh, shiver or just say, “Huh?”
Few things in this world can provide the feeling of being alive. Give thanks that you’re a writer.
My daughter used to get upset with me when we were out in public, having a coffee. She’d say, “Stop staring!”
But I am a writer, and that makes me a people watcher. I am grateful for the ability to see behind the mundane and create stories from small things.
Thanks for the reminder. I forget sometimes.
Beautifully put Jim. Sometimes I fall into that chasm of despair of does it matter. It does, and the most important thing is that my words, observations and take on the world are indeed all mine, and I am very happy to share. Happy Holidays.
Matter, not matters…oops.
“We see beauty in the smallest things. We conjure entire worlds while examining a snowflake. For this, I give thanks.”
Amen, Jim. Thank you for this lovely reminder of the true magic of writing.
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Wow, since the goal of this post is clearly to achieve a positive vibe, I’ll keep my most disagreeable comments to myself this time and finally admit I am just not the audience for this blog and move on.
Jim, you’ve captured the best of being a writer in a very succinct way. We are indeed lucky to be able to weave stories that touch people, connect people, inspire people. Stories tell us where we’ve been, show us where we’re going, remind us of who we are. Stories show what we are capable of–the best and the worst–and show that we can learn and grow and mature. It is truly a privilege to be among this group. Thanks for kicking off the season of gratitude.
The money’s a nice perk (when it comes), but you’re right — we keep writing because we must. Thanks for a great post, Jim.
Beautiful Jim!!! I was shocked while reading, thinking… Wasn´t it me who put these words on the paper? ;-). I agree and I loved the way you let it flow. Thanks for sharing!
Best whishes!