100 reasons to write

Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no idea dump, no stories central, no island of the buried bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the Sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.

– Stephen King

All my life I have written. I received a journal when I was in fourth grade and immediately started writing about how much I hated my brothers. In time the writing morphed into doodles and hearts and words lamenting after boys in high school. It then became the conversation I had with myself about life and yearning for things not yet come to pass. As I traveled around the world it became a record of thoughts that I was lucky enough to think upon inspired from other people and their cultures. As a mother my journals became very sparsely written due to sheer exhaustion and a new focus on that which was not myself.

As my boys grow up and I’m faced with a little more time my writing is becoming more urgent. I realize that when putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard I am doing what I was meant to do in this world. In writing this blog I have found an audience, and am finally able to share thoughts that have always been private. It is frightening and also liberating.

Last night my cousin told me that she thought I was courageous for launching my words out into space and sharing them with the world. This made me contemplate the word courage which stems from the word coeur. As so many of us know,  coeur is French for heart. I’m struck by the fact that it takes heart to expose ourselves to the world. Perhaps that’s why things written from the heart are received most voraciously by the audience. In baring

our soul we connect with the reader and that makes it all worthwhile.

As I reach the milestone of 100 followers I am struck by a vision of 100 people in a room holding a book that I wrote. This image gives me chills and propels me forward into more writing and more sharing and more courage. I sincerely thank you all for being part of this journey and for helping me do what I’ve always wanted to do. I am a writer.

Find me on Twitter @tallerthanilook