What It Takes To Be A Writer by Leanne Dyck

I subscribe to the Writers Unboxed blog. Usually I find an article that challenges, entertains, inspires or informs me. Case-in-point, What It Really Takes by Sarah Callender . In her article, Sarah Callender reflects on an article she read in the Poets and Writers magazine. Sarah writes, 'In this article, Perversity of Spirit, Rufi Thorpe describes a young student and the question he asks her, with palpable desperation, over a cup of coffee:  Do I have what it takes to be a writer?

As I read his earnest question, I recalled the intensity with which I...sought the answer to that same question.'

Callender continues by recounting memories of how she arrived at the answer to his question and she concludes by asking, 'Was there a point you realized you had what it took? What were the hurdles...that tried to thwart you? Whose gifts have encourage you to keep at it?'

My love for stories developed at a very early age. Despite my struggles with reading and spelling (I have dyslexia), this passion led me to write my own stories. Encouraged to continue to write by my family, my teachers, and my friends, I eventually self-published Maynely A Mystery—a mystery set on Mayne Island (my island home).

Months after I published, I recall being stopped in the post office parking lot by a man I knew—but not very well. 

"I'm not a reader," he told me. "But I read your book—quickly, without stopping."

I was deeply touched by his words and shortly after that made a commitment to continue to submit my writing to publishers until something happened. Well, things have happened, and I've continued to collect encouragement. And the biggest support—my husband goes to work every week so I can continue to write.

Our first snowfall of the year.

It arrived early Saturday morning and the light dusting is still here today.

Words fall like snow from my brain onto the page or screen. Sometimes I write blog posts, sometimes stories, but I always write. And I know as long as I keep writing something will happen. I. Know. It. Will. Right now, I live on faith.

Sharing my author journey...

#writing: Creating Sympathetic Characters

My magazine collection

*83 copies which include Writer’s Journal, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, and Quill and Quire—as well as one copy of Script.

*Articles follow the writing process from how to evaluate an idea to how to promote your book--and most everything in between.

*The oldest magazine in my collection dates back to 2006

I’m always on the lookout for magazines on the craft of writing. That’s how I found Poets & Writers. I’ve just pawed through but already feel like I got my money’s worth simply by reading J.T. Bushnell’s article—The Jerks:  Creating Sympathetic Characters.

Here are some of the tips he shares…

-Show your character’s vulnerability.

-‘[T]he harder characters are on themselves, the harder it is to call them jerks.’

-Create characters that are aware of the beauty that surrounds them.

-Create characters that are interested in the activities of secondary characters.

He concludes by stating that it is our job as writers to find the kernel of humanity that resides within our characters and to expose it to our readers.

I look forward to more hours of reading.
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