Once A Writer........

Always a writer. Over the course of my life so far, the drive to write has been a blessing and a curse. On the best of days, it has left me with a great feeling of accomplishment. It has given me great pride to have created something. On a bad day, when the blank page has taunted me or when writing itself seems like a distant memory, I am defeated. The pendulum swings wide and the emotional roller coaster ride is both exhilarating and terrifying for me....and for most writers.

I now know how it feels to NOT write for a long period of time. No song, blog, short story or scrap of an idea has ventured forth from my troubled mind in over a year. And I did it on purpose. I turned my back on it. It just didn't seem practical and it certainly wasn't going to pay the bills. It was a busy year full of more than our fair share of changes. I worked hard on my cooking business and on being a supportive wife and mother. The occasional well-crafted song or beautifully written blog made me feel a little wistful, but not enough to do anything about it.

And yet, here I am revisiting my blog. So, something did happen to end the drought. It was nothing dramatic. It was talking about writing over coffee with a songwriter friend.  It was the fledgling song ideas that started to pop in my head. It was the "creative group" that I joined last week. It was the announcement in the church bulletin about the "worship writing workshop." I probably won't finish my novel or have "2 a day" songwriting sessions anytime soon, but you can bet I will be writing something.

I am going to write because I am a writer. Whether it seems practical or not. Whether I ever make another cent or not. My writing muscle is out of shape, but the drive (and hopefully the talent?) is still in there. Yes, the pendulum will swing wide and the roller coaster will careen out of control at times. But another thing I have learned about writing is that it is not for the faint of heart.