Many people talk about writing, dream about writing, fantasize about writing, wish they were writers.
There is nothing wrong with all that – it shows great passion for writing, but …
If you want to be a writer, then you must write.
Imagine you want to be a gardener: talking about it is good, dreaming about it is good, so is buying packets of seeds, tools, going to gardening shows and workshops, but if you never put seed into soil, if you never try to grow something, then you aren’t a gardener. It doesn’t matter if you have a large plot of land or a window sill with barely enough room for a small flowerpot – to be a gardener you must plant and grow things.
Of course, when people think about being a writer, they think about being a published writer. Being published is a great achievement, but if you haven’t written anything then you can’t be published.
Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific writers, probably said it best:
I write for the same reason I breathe — because if I didn’t, I would die.
I don’t know the original source of this image, so I am unable to credit it. If you know the original source (not just someone else using it), let me know and I will gladly credit the original artist (or remove and replace it if it is in violation of copyright and I can’t secure the right to it)..