A writer …
so, you want to be a writer
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.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it for money or
fame,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don’t do it.
if it’s hard work just thinking about doing it,
don’t do it.
if you’re trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you’re not ready.don’t be like so many writers,
don’t be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don’t be dull and boring and
pretentious, don’t be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to sleep
over your kind.
don’t add to that.
don’t do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don’t do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don’t do it.when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.there is no other way.
and there never was.
From sifting through the madness for the Word, the line, the way by Charles Bukowski
According to Charles Bukowski, every writer is hardly a writer. but that in Mr. Bukowski’s world if you still not sure then you can always follow these steps that can help you discover whether you are a writer or you are not.
1: Become a better reader
Practice, practice, practice.
2: Write Everyday
3: Start a Blog here on medium
4: Read the book “Everybody Writes” by Ann Handley
5: Enroll in an Online Writing Course
6: Find a Place to Get Honest Critiques
In addition here is how to get the most of critiques :
7: Start Journaling
8: Practice Becoming More Conversational
9: “Write Drunk, Edit Sober”
10: Recognize Why You Want to Become a Writer
Recognizing your why is what Charles Bukowski is talking about and once you find your why nothing will stop you from writing.
Thanks for reading Writers Guild — A Penname publication
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