Challenge Yourself to Call Yourself a Writer

31-Day Ninja Writer Challege 2019: Day Twelve

I want you to do something, right now.

I mean it, right this minute, where ever you are.

Say this out loud: I AM A WRITER.

How did that feel? If it felt great — hell, yes! That’s awesome.

But, it’s okay if it felt like a lie.

It can be hard to own something that you don’t quite feel like you’ve earned yet. It’s easy to compare yourself to people at the pinnacle of their career and decide that you can’t possibly say that you belong with them.

Here’ the thing, though. I want you to say it anyway. And keep saying it until you make it true.

I’ve heard people say that they won’t do it until they’re a best seller or until someone makes a movie out of one of their books. (To be fair, none of those people were published. I’d be willing to bet they change their mind the first time they see a book with their name on it.)

Hopefully your own criteria for when you’ll feel like a writer is somewhat more reasonable than being on a best seller list.

I made a decision when was very young that I’d officially call myself a writer the first time I got paid for something I’d written, and then used that money to pay a bill. That’s Stephen King’s criteria for success and it felt right to me.

That first paid piece of writing turned out to be an article about dog friendly restaurants in Las Vegas. I was paid ten bucks. I used it to fill my gas tank (this was the early 1990s!) and a few weeks later I wrote “writer” on my daughter’s kindergarten registration form.

It felt like an act of rebellion, at the time.

I’m glad that I set the “I’m a writer” bar fairly low. I probably would have given up years ago if I’d decided I needed to be traditionally published first. Or worse, that I had to be a best seller.

I called myself a writer well before it was obvious to anyone else that I was. As a direct result of that, I mustered up the nerve to apply for a job as a newspaper reporter, when I didn’t have a college degree or any experience (I got that job.)

I believed I was a writer and that formed my vision of myself.

If you’re holding back from telling people that you’re a writer because you think maybe it’s not okay to say it if you’re not published or you haven’t written a novel yet or no one’s paid you anything — here’s me giving you permission to just do it. Break whatever rule you think there is about who gets to say that they’re a writer.

You get to, Ninja Writer. Today. The next time someone asks you what you do. When you look in the mirror and need a boost. You are a writer. It’s okay to own that.

Yesterday, we talked about long goals and ten year plans for reaching those goals. Today, I want you to think about the first steps that will get you there. Starting with calling yourself a writer.

But also? I think we can probably all agree that whatever your long-range goal is, the first real step is writing your first (or next) book. Finishing it, all the way to the end.

I think you can reach that shorter term goal by the end of 2019.

Just say this out loud right now: I’m a writer, and I’m going to write a novel in 2018.

Chills!

When we’re done with the 31 Day Challenge, you’re going to have a story idea all developed and tested for it’s ability to hold up a novel. Either the book you’re already working on, or something new.

We’ve got Summer Writing Workshops starting June 10. Registration is opening next week. You can join the waiting list here, if you’d like us to let you know when it’s time.

Here’s a fun fact. About 20 percent of the people on my mailing list will open the email that contains the link to this post. Only a tiny fraction will actually finish writing their books in 2019, no matter how many say they want to. Decide to be one of those. There is nothing as amazing as finishing a book.

Be the five percent!

ASSIGNMENT TWELVE:

Did you already say “I am a writer, and I’m going to write a book in 2018” out loud? Good. Now, say it out loud to another person. You can practice by coming to say it in our Facebook group.

Read and write for ten minutes each today.

Read all of the challenges in this series here:

Want the rest of the challenge posts in your email inbox?

Shaunta Grimes is a writer and teacher. She is an out-of-place Nevadan living in Northwestern PA with her husband, three superstar kids, two dementia patients, a good friend, Alfred the cat, and a yellow rescue dog named Maybelline Scout. She’s on Twitter @shauntagrimes and is the original Ninja Writer.