On writing

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I used to be a good writer, as in it was my passion and strongest subject in school. I was published in a somewhat easy to win writing contest that I won, and ended up winning it several years in a row. This was when I was around 12. 

 
 The reason I was a somewhat talented writer was that I was a bibliophile. I read so often that it grew my vocabulary and desire to excel at the written word.

  However, strangely enough my writing skills have absolutely deteriorated since I became a Mom. 

 
And, the more I began to use social media, the more my vocabulary began to die. I began watching more movies and read less. I also have little time to do anything other then be Mom, and that's fine. Save I almost never edit my posts.
 
 About two years ago I somehow ended up becoming a travel writer, completely by accident. I have never been a great blogger and I began to hate reviewing hotels and the likes, and my desire to write decreased even more. I also didn't have much time to write during the day so would end up writing late at night ( as you can tell by my constant spelling errors...lol)

I quickly began to hate writing and felt lost and inadequate. 

Eventually I confronted my feelings and decided to investigate what I do enjoy writing, and how I can improve my once decent writing skills. I found out a few things that got me back to feeling inspired and called to express myself on paper ( and in the cyber world). First off, if I try to force myself to write, it just won't happen and if it does, it's almost always bad. Second, I need to read more ( offline) to be inspired to craft a story or talk about something I love. 

And third, I can't compare my work or posts to that of another. Comparison in all aspects of life does us no good.

In our world, brevity is king sadly. Readers have shorter attention spans and if one wants to really captivate an audience, one must tell a story and pull the reader in, or we tend to get lost and disinterested. Or, one must be a copywriter ( which often also involves storytelling).

I firmly believe every woman ( and man) has a story to tell. Many of us though feel our story isn't important or interesting, but I strongly disagree. I met a girl named Mimi that lived next to us in Los Angeles. Mimi was suffering from kidney failure and due to her condition she lost her baby. It was a terrible tragedy for her. We became friends after a somewhat dark time in my own life, when I was struggling with pp depression and felt confused as to what my path was in life. I encouraged Mimi to writer her story and that she could change the life of other young women who were in a similar situation. Reluctantly, she agreed, and after a week the writing just began to pour out of her. 

I haven't heard from her for around 5 years but I know that regardless of whether her book was published or not, it did her nothing but good expressing herself. I hope she does publish it and I know it will be a compelling story of a young girl fleeing Mexico for the US with her mom and siblings, joining a gang, becoming ill and losing her child, and then realizing she had so much worth to this world and that her life is meaningful and absolutely valued by God and all who meet her. 

Writers also tend to be very critical of both their own work and the work of others. I had a former classmate write me on Facebook one day ( before I began my writing career) and basically say my writing was mediocre. What the....? I had only one article I had published at that time, and I hadn't seen or heard from the guy in about 7 years. Yet the first thing he says is basically your article was sub par? It was actually pretty funny. But yes, this is the degree to which writers will condemn eachother, over grammar or plot or whatever they choose to attack. 

Guess what? It doesn't matter. One doesn't need to be a perfect writer ( whatever that means...). 

Women have stories to tell. We need to keep telling them and passing down our stories and words to our children and friends. And we also need to read more. Alot more. Reading is an integral component to our mental and even spiritual growth. 

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." -Einstein