Writers Write
By: Jimmy Salsa
Tags: Self Help, Vieques, Writers On Writing

“Are you ready for another, Babe? “ asked the 19 year old bar tender. I cant remember her name, now, its been so long, although I can see her face as though she were standing in front of me.

“Yes ,please. And get one for Mike too, please.” Mike was some kind of an author from England. They tell me he’s kind of famous. I’ve known him for a few years , off and on. Whenever I come to Vieques he can usually be found at Khuns at some time during the week.

I turn to Mike as he thanks me for the Gin and Tonic, raises his glass and takes a sip. I figured I should pay a fee before getting advice from a famous author. ” Hey Mike, I've been thinking about writing a book for years now. I just cant figure out how to put it all together, you know, where should I start? Any advice ?”

“Well, James, you know what they say about writers , don’t you?”

“No, Mike, actually I don’t. What do they say?”

“Writers write.” He said.” Its as simple as that. Because as soon as you write you become a writer. You may not be a published author, you may not be famous, but as long as you write , you are in fact a writer. The only requirement to be a writer is that you write. A prolific writer writes a lot. Just keep writing.

People are always looking for the home run, the big idea that will make all of their dreams come true, the run away best seller. But look behind the curtain of any success at all, whether in sports, business, acting, anything, you will invariably find hard work and lots of it. You have to be able to suck for a long time before you get anywhere. You have to sift through a lot of sand to find a golden nugget. And one gold nugget is not enough to make all of your dreams come true. You need lots of them. If you don’t enjoy the process you will never get to the finish line. If you don’t enjoy scooping sand into your sluice, there is no amount of gold that would make it worth the time you have to put in to it. If you can’t tolerate mosquito attacks and a sore back, your better off getting a job than prospecting for gold.

See, James, writers write because they love the process. They love putting the words together like pieces of puzzles. They look for words and phases and ideas all the time. Even when they’re not writing ,they are thinking about writing. Like song writers do. Like painters do. Architects, and so on. Its a journey into the self that makes a writer, but its the same for anyone that has found their calling. The Japanese call it Ikigai, your life’s purpose. Once you find your life’s purpose you simply wake up every morning and do the work. The hard work. The painful work. You have to push yourself harder and harder because that’s your job.

You may start out wanting to be a writer when actually it is the publishing you are being drawn to. In that case you look for authors that you resonate with and get their voices heard. The job of a publisher is much different that that of a writer. The job of an art gallery owner is very different from that of a painter or sculptor. We all have a place we like to call home and when you find it you stay there and build upon it. You make your little world a little bit brighter, you add your own style or signature to it. You own it. And nobody can take it away from you.

There will be haters, there always are. Some will go to great lengths to knock you down and cause you emotional pain. The critics. They can be so fucking mean. They’ll criticize your Grandma, your punctuation, your spelling and of course the content itself. They will criticize not only your work but you as a person. They will stand outside your house with torches and pitchforks, calling you every mean name imaginable. They will threaten not only you but your entire family. They will try every scare tactic they can think of. Can you take it? Or will you cower into the closet, cover yourself with a blanket and lie down in the fetal position? No matter what you decide, James , you will have to own it. It’s your decision. And if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

We don’t write for the likes or the shares or the tweets. We don’t even write for the money. If people like it ,that’s great. If we can get paid for it, even better. If it can make us rich we know that we are resonating with enough people that our work is good. If nobody likes it, it doesn’t matter either. Many works were not appreciated in their time but discovered later to be amazing. We write because that’s what we do. The money is just to pay the bills, buy some wine, maybe travel to Havana to get some material so we can write some more.”

There are many paths in the writers world. Classic, epic,crime and detective. Fairy tale, fantasy, folktale and fable. Horror, humor and historical. Magic, mystery and mythology. Don’t forget romance, travel and spy. But you don’t have to choose. You just have to write. The words will take you there and the critics will tell you what it is. Perhaps you will create a genre that is new or rediscovered.

If your looking for advice on writing your book ,James, the best advice I can give you or anybody else is this……… Write.