Last week, in “Four Steps to Becoming a Writer,” I mentioned the guy who said, “All my life I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I wasn’t writing.”
My story’s the opposite. All my life I was writing, but I only recently knew I wanted to be a writer. So I went to work to become one:
- I started blogging.
- I read books about writing.
- I attended writers’ conferences.
- I followed blogs about writing.
- I joined a critique group.
- I became friends with other writers.
But none of these made me feel like a writer, so I started acting like one.
- I wrote every day.
- I developed a professional website.
- I started this blog about writing.
- I had a professional headshot taken.
- I spoke about writing.
- I ordered business cards.
- I staked my claim on social media sites.
But the turning point came when I started calling myself a writer. At that moment a switch flipped in my brain. All these steps aided in my journey, but it wasn’t until I said it aloud that I actually believed it.
“Hi, I’m Peter, and I’m a writer. How about you?”
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Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is a full-time, career author. He’s published scores of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts, with experience as a publisher, editor, and commercial freelance writer. A passionate wordsmith, his goal is to change the world one word at a time. Learn more at PeterLyleDeHaan.com.
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