My little girl comes home from school everyday and runs to our craft cabinet. She pulls out pens, paper, markers, and scissors. For hours, she draws, colors, cuts, and pastes. Her projects litter our home--drawings of fairies, snowmen cut-outs, paper glasses, masks, and picture books. Her need to draw is almost compulsive, and her output is impressive. I look at her and see an artist in embyro. And I recognise her need to create.
I'm a blogger because I can't stop the words from coming. They fill my mind all the time. I'm constantly composing essays in my head, spinning words to describe my experiences, or constructing arguments about current social issues. Most of it doesn't get written because I forget a lot of it by the time I have a minute to sit down and write. I'd like to say that what does get written is the best of a lot of junk. But that simply isn't true. I write because the need is compulsive. I process my experiences, my thoughts, and even my positions through writing.
I've resisted the label of writer, because I don't feel like I'm good enough for the title. My prose doesn't hide layers of meanings, my language isn't sophisticated, and I certainly don't entice readers to visit my site in droves. I don't polish every post, preferring to write off the cuff.
However, after watching my daughter create art, I am starting to wonder I could possibly accept the label as a writer in embryo. Is one a writer because you can't stop the words from coming? Perhaps not. But at this point, I'll take it, promising myself I'll work on this craft, developing better skills and someday, perhaps, calling myself a writer. Until then, I'll gladly say that I'm a writer in embryo.
I think you are wrong about how good you are. You are definitely better than many of the "popular" blogs I've read out there. And I prefer the unpolished, it's so much more real!
ReplyDeleteI like the way you write because it's honest and from the heart. And I think you're way past the embryo phase.
ReplyDeleteYou're a writer, period! No embryo!
ReplyDeleteI can relate! I wrote a guest post for someone one time and she introduced me as blah blah blah and a writer. I was like, what? Writer? More of a thinker, I think, but it was interesting to see her classify me as a writer!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments above. You are definitely a writer in my book. You feel a need to write, you do it, and you do it well (which is not necessarily a requirement, but does qualify you for the label of "good writer.") Maybe it will take you a while to accept it or to get to where you want to be, but I love reading your blog and it's not just 'cause I like you...you are a good writer! (And I hope that one day I can write off the cuff half as well as you do, because it takes me ages just to manage a single comment!)
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