“i am a writer!”  I read somewhere that I should say that every morning, as a way of validating myself, and that as I came to believe it, I’d have more motivation and success.

 

I used to say it only to myself.  It sounded like bragging, although lots of people say things like “I am a lawyer” or “I am a computer programmer, and no-one thinks that it’s boastful.  But a statement like “I am a writer” evokes a response in people that’s often hard to answer.  “What have you written?” is the automatic response and in the beginning, my truthful answer would have been “Not much”.

 

But today that’s not true.  I’ve been writing for many, many years, ever since I was a child.  I used to have a drawer in my desk absolutely crammed with stuff – essays, half-developed short stories, some novel outlines and opening chapters I hoped to develop later.  In the beginning my published work amounted to some Letters to the Editor and what are known as fillers that I was actually paid for – not big sums, but useful amounts that paid for postage and stationery.  I also was proud to see my name next to these modest submissions.  Success is where preparation and opportunity meet, so I took advantage of whatever writing opportunities came my way, hoping they would lead to bigger things.  Eventually they did.  I’ve published 13 books, one of which – my novel “The Pomegranate Pendant” – was made into a m0vie titled “The Golden Pomegranate.”  I have probably also published 5,000 articles; many poems,  dozens of short stories. It didn’t happen overnight but once I started to believe in myself, I saw inspiration everywhere and the words just flowed.

Writing poetry is wonderful, and I even published a book of poems  called “Woman of Jerusalem”.  Poetry comes when you are feeling highly emotional- when I thought I was in love; when I felt betrayed; when Nature turned on one of its spectacular displays , maybe in Spring – when you walk through your garden or a park and the air is fresh with a gentle breeze, and there are tows of daffodils and tulips in colors  that make you gasp, or there is a border of freesias that perfume the air and send your senses reeling.  Roger White wrote:                           “When life touches us,

Poems appear like bruises”.

Never a truer word has been spoken.

I became a writer when I had enough faith in myself to believe it.  So if you are just starting out, validate yourself by telling yourself every day “I am a writer!”  The Chinese have a beautiful proverb:  “Keep a green tree in your heart, and perhaps the singing bird will come”?