Loquacious: meaning- wordy!

She still has more to say?

Why, yes. Yes, I do.

I think I'd like to start with: good heavens, what do you mean when you say that you're a writer?
Do you have a book published or something?

Uh, no. Unfortunately, I do not. I do, however, have several articles published.

But, let's get serious now, being published doesn't mean you're a writer. Nu-uh. Not true.

In my personal, modest opinion, being a writer means that you LOVE to WRITE. That's it.

That is the grand answer to the pernicious "Am I a writer" question, which, may I say, plagued me from the ripe old age of twelve.

See, I always knew that I loved to write. Duh. I've got several full and very embarrassing diaries to prove it.

In there, my writing ranged the gamut: fiction (a lot of light romances and tragic epics- let's just say I liked dichotomy), non-fiction (angst-laden tales of angst), to a literal report of events ("Today, I went to school. We learned math.")

A particular treasure is my non-rhyming poetry.

Yeah...

But I was always inordinately concerned with how good my writing was. It had to be perfect or I would never be a writer.

It didn't matter that when I put my pen to page, I could be counted on not to care about the shape of my paragraphs or the flow of my words.

Nope, I had to write the next great Canadian novel and I had to hone my talent now.

Well, um, that worked well. My writing became more and more stop-and-start as the years went by.

I tried to schedule writing in, but that only caused stuffy prose and panic.

So, somewhere between writer's craft class and applying to journalism school, I gave up and just let it be.

And, I swear, I have never been happier as a writer.

I've started a novel. I've had articles published.

Trust me, the gains have been minor but now I know that I can let myself be content with my own talent.

I don't have to live up to the standards of Margaret Atwood, Tolstoy, Hemingway, etc.!

When the ink dries, I just get to be me. Flawed, but funny, corny but charming, strange but relatable, descriptive and loquacious me.



Hey, you writers out there! I'll tell you to enjoy what you have because there is no better hobby- in my humble opinion. Or profession for that matter...

Blessings,

Beth