Saying & Doing

Last Friday I went to Borders to work. When I say work, I mean write.Writing is my work-even if for the moment I'm not exactly being paid to do it.I'm taking my chosen craft seriously and treating it as such. I came to the conclusion a while ago-that if I really wanted to write, and actually be able to call myself a writer then I would have to treat it like a job, to attack it like a job, to devote the time to it like a job.Saying I was a writer and actually being an honest to goodness professional author are two completely different things. It's that way with any profession-the saying and doing there's always a difference. The saying part, obviously will always be easier.A person couldn't call herself a doctor if she didn't take the time to learn how to become one. The same I realize in many degrees is the same for writing. I'm not ever going to become a published author if I don't take the time to actually become one.It has taken me some time to begin to put it into practice. Last Friday was a turning point for me. The second, but a major one.Since last Friday I've been working-that is to say writing pretty steadily. Writing on my other personal blog and on my novel.For years when ever I'd finish reading a book or when ever I'd walk into a book store in the back of my mind there was always that feeling-that I could do this-that I wanted to do this.I began working on my novel in October of 2008. I'm no where near done-but I'm learning as I go. Writing a novel is much easier said than done. I've learned a lot so far and each day that I sit down and actually write I'm learning more. It's been wonderful, frustrating, and entirely educational for me and I'm loving every minute of it.I realize that on days when I'm actually productive and get somewhere in my writing I feel great. I'm more enthusiastic about other areas of my life.Writing is my passion. It breathes passion into every nuance of my life.  I'm constantly thinking about stories, chacters, plotting. It's a wonderful thing, to let be able to dive into make-believe and swim around for a bit.