As a young girl, I often gave thought to one

day becoming a writer. I would narrate

stories, imagine documentaries and create

poetry, all in my head as I went about my

daily routine. Sometimes I stopped to journal

my thoughts. Unfortunately, this act of

physically writing was rather inconsistent; so

the sum of the extant parts is not

representative of the total of my mental

contrivances.

During my teen years I read somewhere that one

does not necessarily set out to become a

writer; rather, an individual experiences life

- raises a family, pursues a career, etc.

Then having done all that, s/he discovers that

there is much to write about. I must have

accepted that idea at the time, because to

this day I am still waiting to launch into a

writing career.

However, as I compose this article, I

recognize that the idea of experiencing life

in order to be able to write at a later time

is a moot. What of those individuals who from

very early have plunged into writing and

achieved success? What also is the value of

training to become a writer by obtaining

language and journalism degrees and so on,

right after graduating from high school?

Wouldn't a writing career then form a part of

that person's life experience?

I have a sister who, like me, has a passion

for literature. An avid reader, she has done

her share of dabbling with writing. She even

went as far as obtaining a career diploma in

Writing Children's Books. However, I am yet to

see the fruits of all her hard work and

determination to become qualified to do

something which she loves. Obviously, some

people train for a writing career, but never

get into it; and others who never trained

specifically to write may wind up doing it

anyway.

Had I ignored the suggestion that only mature

individuals are capable of writing, I would

likely be in a different place today. For one

thing, I am sufficiently experienced now to

recognize that some write because it is their

talent, while others simply worked at

developing writing skills. But irrespective

of what made individuals become writers -

there was no trying, only doing.

At times I harassed my sister, reminding her

that writing has a low start-up cost: pencil,

paper and the writer's time and skills.

Factoring technology into the scheme of things

does not alter the picture too much, except

for individuals living in places where

technology is non-existent. One does not have

to own a word-processor or have an internet

account; there is public access to internet-

connected computers at libraries and community

centers, for instance.

Suffice it to say, however, that there are

those who continue to wish for a writing

career but not take any steps forward. It is

now my considered opinion that the best way to

jump-start one's writing career is to just

write. There are myriad opportunities to

write in an online environment [http://5073eylivls6k03dxd11y9446o.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=WriteNowJan2011] these days.

Amongst them are invitations for submission of

articles, blog entries and other web-content.

Those connected to the information super-

highway ought to take the bull by the horn and

benefit from this new media.

Anyone who has a serious interest in writing

should be able to launch into it, despite of

life experiences or lack thereof. One's

thoughts, concepts, ideas and current

realities are sufficient to build upon. What

is quintessential is the discipline of

developing the writing habit. Like swimming,

an individual must go into the water in order

to learn. This is true whether one is six or

60. Practice makes perfect; and to my mind,

the sooner one begins, the sooner s/he can

achieve mastery. So please do not hold

yourself back; you may practice by writing a

review for this article too…