When I was in high school, I took voice lessons for about a year from a previous choir teacher. One of her mantras that she repeated often was this: “Anyone can sing.” She truly believed that everyone who had functioning vocal cords, lungs, and mouths could learn the principles of healthy singing and become an amazing singer in whichever style they wanted.
The catch?
They had to be dedicated enough to practice and work at their singing skills consistently in order to build up the ability and talent.
Although I wasn’t perfect at practicing every day, I was inspired by my teacher to practice often, and she helped me increase my range by a whole octave by the time I finished studying with her.
I now believe that anyone can sing, too. And I also believe that anyone can write.
However, just like musicians, athletes, teachers, and participants in every other profession or hobby must practice consistently and frequently in order to grow in their field, writers must practice writing if they want to improve. It might take you years and years to become as great of a writer as you want to be, but you can do it; anyone can.
What Are Your Goals?
If you want to become a writer, you need to know what that means to you. Do you want to be a famous author, writing and publishing books for a living? Do you want to write as a hobby, sharing your work with only a few close friends or family members? You might be somewhere in between these two writing lifestyles.
Whatever you want, be specific about how much you want to write and what you want to do with your writing. Start researching what it takes to reach your goal and set smaller goals for you to accomplish along the way.
If you don’t know your end goal yet, don’t worry! Just knowing that you want to improve your writing is enough of a desire to get you started.
What It Takes
So what does it take to become a writer? It takes writing every single day. It takes research: reading what you want to write, learning the best writing principles for your genre or style, and realizing what writers do to build their careers. It takes growth—which can be painful—as you receive feedback from friends, fellow writers, and editors. It takes passion and dedication to stick to your writing goals and commitments, even when it seems like you’ll never be good enough.
If you do all of that, you will be good enough someday, even if you’re the only one who sees how far you’ve come on your writing journey.
Believe in Your Dreams
No matter what your goal is as a writer, believe in the dreams you have. Many writers have gone from begging for publishers to notice them to worldwide fame, but it didn’t happen overnight. Each writer’s success comes from practicing the craft, doing what it takes to reach their goals, and believing in their dreams.
So, believe in yourself! Join me in believing that anyone, including you, can write.