Give Yourself the Gift of Writing

I thought about doing another The Gift of Books Christmas entry like last year, but I can sum up this year’s reading gifts with the photo I used for this entry and another book given to me by my mom — and a thank you to my sister-in-law and family for a nice gift certificate that ensures hours on the couch with books in the coming weeks.

This year, I want to talk about something else…

The Gift of Writing

This year, I want to talk about a gift writers can give themselves: the gift of writing!

Simply by producing regular content, whether it’s fiction, articles, poetry…whatever — you’re giving yourself a gift that comes back to you.

Here’s what I mean…

The Ghost of Writing Past

A couple months ago, I got a Facebook message from a fellow writer who read an old story I wrote in an old comic book anthology. (It was the first thing I ever wrote with the hope of seeing published…ah, if only all sales were so easy!)

To hear that somebody loved something you wrote over 15 years ago — and that they just discovered it — is one of the coolest feelings out there.

I hadn’t thought of the story, dragged the old comic book out of my comic book boxes, or stumbled upon some of the art I have for the story in over a year.

So it was a very cool feeling having somebody say, “Hey, loved that story!” when I wasn’t expecting it.

It Really Does Come Back

I occasionally hear from people who stumble upon old writing, long after I’ve moved on.

It’s a great feeling I hope everybody reading this experiences.

Only One Way

When I hear from somebody who discovers things I’ve written, it’s a reminder that what I write — even if it doesn’t always seem that way — matters to people.

And it matters to me; it’s a great feeling having people come out of nowhere and say, “Hey, that was cool!”

It’s a reminder that the best gift we can give ourselves as writers is keeping at it. The only way we’re going to hear from people who like our writing is to stay productive.

Whether you celebrate something today or not, make an effort to give yourself the gift of writing productivity.

It’s the only way to make it as a writer, and it’s always cool when somebody discovers what you’ve written.