Those of you who write are familiar with the struggles of a writer. That nagging thought of being a fraud doesn’t leave many of us in peace.

I beat myself up. “Why is it such a challenge for me to take a break from [living] my life to write?” This internal questioning in my head is a regular occurrence.

But, every day, I learn something new, or I become cognizant of something that may have been staring me in the face for ages.

Recently, it dawned on me why writing has not been a natural tendency for me in the last twelve months.

Somehow, when my current job was no longer a new thing in my life, it became my one main thing, with my family and social life. With my previous job, I always had writing playing a huge part in my life. I don’t know for sure if the job itself gave me a reason or the stimulation to write, or it simply allowed me to write.

One thing is clear: I want to write but my brain seems rather lazy. I find reasons to postpone writing. I find excuses not to write. I can’t only blame the comfortable softness of the white linen, pillows, and robes.

So, what is required of writers, especially those who don’t write for a living?

Writing needs to be a part of life. Writing must not be an activity you and I do while life is paused.

Personally, I just need to figure out how to bring writing back into the mainstream of my life. I have a feeling the answer is in my head.

My mind wandered back to my birthday. I realized one true thing about friendships or friends. Real friends are not the ones who commit to a fixed plan to celebrate a birthday. Real friends do not make other plans as they commit to a no-plan-to-celebrate-a-birthday.

I have been a fraud in the last year or so. I have not been a real writer. A writer writes first. A writer commits to writing first, with or without a plan or reason, before anything else. Before playing Pokemon Go or Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. 🤦‍♀️🙈

Happy writing!

Much love and hugs,

Anne J