To be a writer, you must write. You can't just think about writing. Even if you daydream some pretty terrific story lines, they are still not on the page. Once you words are on the page, they are not only proof that you can think, but they are there for someone else to read and enjoy. You have created something. You have shared something with the world.

I have read "Bird By Bird," by Anne Lamott, but before I read that book, I saw her on TV. That is when I discovered her. I was sitting with my parents watching PBS, and we were laughing. She was funny. It was sort of a documentary on how she teaches writing. I will never forget what she said, now I may quote her badly, this is from memory, but she said, "If you are a writer, you have to write, if you don't you will go crazy from all the voices in your head." All of a sudden there was a dead silence in my parents house. My mom looked at me and said, "That's like you." Truly she was saying, maybe that is what's wrong with you. The point is I need to write.

I was once listening to NPR. There was a man telling the audience how to write a book in a year. We all dream of writing the next big thing. His punchline was, you can write a book in a year, but you have to write every day of the year. You can't give yourself any days off.

Now, there's a grueling task master. But, if you are a writer, or if you dream of writing, you have to admit that it is worth it. What better activity, than to sit down with the voices in your head, and make something productive out of it!

I believe, art, when it is true, spills out of you. You can not contain it. This does not mean that pure poetry and prose spills out of you every day of your life. Charles Bukowski says it well in his poem, "so you want to be a writer?" Here's a quote:

"if it doesn't come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don't do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don't do it."

But, that was just a taste to whet your appetite. If it worked, check out the whole poem here:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia .php/prmMID/16549

I promise you, it will be worth your time.

Remember, when you sit down to write, it doesn't have to be perfect. It is not going to be perfect the first time. Just let it come, as it will come, out of you. There will be time later for editing. Once you have gotten some space from it, a day or two, you can pull it back out, and start to fret over each word, trying to make it pretty and perfect. Just don't try to start with pretty.

Finally, choose your medium. Do you want to use a computer, pen and paper or a good old fashioned typewriter. Me, I prefer a computer. The true reason is, I have awful penmanship, and that can be terribly distracting to me. I have heard of people who like to use a pen and paper, however. If you have ever seen "Finding Forrest," you will know, Sean Connery's character swears by the typewriter. He thinks the sound of the clicking keys is a very important motivator.

Days, weeks or even years later; you never know what you might find, when you are looking back over the work, that you allowed to flow uninterrupted and unedited out of you. You may even think to yourself, "Wow, I wish I knew now, what I knew then."

Learn more about this author, Caroline Ross.
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