Writer at Work
Things I've learned about writing ten years later, maybe more. I didn't know, pero parece que soy cabeza dura.
WRITINGLIFE & STUFF
Esperanza Beltrán
8/12/20262 min read
Hi, it's been a while. Have you wondered what I've been up to? Probably not. We forget people on the internet pretty quickly if they don't show up consistently. Who reads my blog anyway? I don't think anybody. It makes me sad on one hand, but happy on the other because the loneliness allows me to write whatever I want, without worrying if any of it makes sense or is worthy of public consumption. It's my place where I can just write what's on my mind. Nobody's watching.
What I've been up to lately is a lot of writing, something I had been avoiding for some time for a few reasons. Actually, no, I had been writing, just not as consistently as I would have liked. I was working, and then, after I left that job, it took me some time to get back in the saddle, or chair, as it were. I don't know why, but I had not realized how much hard work writing is. I think I had not given it the respect it deserved. I thought that if I liked writing and was pretty good at it (based on what I've been told), then it should all just come together. I didn't need to put too much effort into it. I thought that if I put too much effort into my writing, I would remove the magic from it, the mystery, and all my writing would become bland, sin color. It's just that I love putting words together, as all writers do, I suppose, pero in my head, it feels like I'm the only one who cares this much. I know it's not like that, and I realize that all that this fear led to was not putting in the work.
Do you see my burrito there in front of my monitor? It's my reminder to be humble, work, and be of service. But what service is writing? I've wondered. I've decided it's like music, seemingly pointless, but as necessary as food and sleep. It feeds and relaxes the soul. Right now, as I write, I'm listening to Fast Car by Luke Combs.
In the end, what finally entered my stubborn brain is that I need to get to freakin' work, no matter how good I think I am at my chosen craft. Be humble and get to work. And do it with love and joy.
By the way, I made a book that is now up on Amazon. Don't get excited for me, whoever is reading this (I'm having so much fun writing this; it's like I'm just talking to myself, lol); I did not publish a book to read. I guess it's more like a writing book. It's a log. Meant for writing down the words, hours, or minutes written. Now that I'm back to working on my first novel, I plan to fill that baby up. Hoping someone finds it useful enough to buy.
I'm proud of myself for figuring out how to publish a book! I do plan on publishing a children's story I wrote ages ago that I've never dared to take out of my drawer. There I've been getting in the way, so stepping aside and letting writer Esperanza get to work and publish that book that a child and their parent might enjoy.
Okay, time to get back to work on that novel. ¡A trabajar se ha dicho!