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I didn’t know why I loved my library card. I hadn’t set foot in a library prior to that day. However, I was a good student and I did as I was instructed. I wrote an essay of reasons why someone might love their library card. I turned it in without a second thought.

This assignment turned out to be a contest entry. My essay would be selected as the winner. I was presented with a book of children’s poetry and had my photo taken for the local paper. (My mom still owns several copies, if anyone’s interested. 😉 )

For the first time, it occurred to me my writing might be special. I began writing short stories and fell in love with creative writing. Dreams of becoming a novelist filled my head. I couldn’t wait to grow up and spend my days creating fictional worlds for my readers to love.

In junior high, I learned two new forms of writing that captured my heart. Poetry and journalism. The poetry unit in my 8th grade Honors English class opened my eyes to the freedom of expression. My best friend and I would spend our sleepovers creating poetic prose of unrequited love. We laugh about it now. As young teens we were so dramatic. Still, poetry remains an emotional outlet for me to this day.

Journalism sparked a new professional interest. The idea of working in a bustling newsroom was exciting. I went on to earn the position of Features Editor at my high school publication. It was here I discovered my knack for writing personality features. I loved telling fascinating stories of my fellow classmates and it quickly became my niche.

Writing was my passion. It was my sole aspiration throughout the course of my childhood. Then something changed.

As a young adult, I started taking creative writing classes. Courses in novel writing, historical fiction writing, poetry. The number one thing I learned was there were a lot of rules in writing!

I’m not talking about grammar rules or basic sentence structure. I’m talking about rules stifling creativity. Rules forcing all writers to conform to a single process.

I’m a rule follower by nature. With the exception of a couple rebellious teen years (we’ve all been there, right?), I’m a by-the-book kind of gal. I tried my best to cram myself into this box of what supposedly determined a successful writer.

The result? I wound up on a fast track to nowhere. All of a sudden, I couldn’t seem to write one coherent sentence. At least, not one that didn’t violate about seventeen different rules. I would sit staring blankly at my blank screen with a blank mind save for one thought: I’m the world’s worst writer. 

We’ve all been there. It’s the Writer’s Curse. Only I was there for years. A decade, really. I threw in the towel. Gave up. Focused on my job. Dated my (now) husband. My twenties flew by in a blur of non-writing. 

I’d lost it. All the talent I’d had as a kid. All that creativity. Gone. 

Fast-forward to my early 30s. My husband and I discovered we were pregnant with our first child. We’d always planned for me to be a stay-at-home mom, but we couldn’t afford for me to stop working altogether. I searched for work-from-home jobs and there was one that kept coming back to me: writing. I could be a freelance writer. I might not be able to create fictional worlds anymore, but even I could handle writing an article about my favorite football game day recipes. (Three words: Bourbon Whiskey Meatballs.)

I worked in freelance for a few years. It felt great to be writing again. It wasn’t long before the passion of prose reawakened in my soul. Freelance articles were great. It wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to write stories.

After spending the 2016 election cycle writing politics (an unbelievably frustrating task), I vowed 2017 would be strictly for creative writing. The rules would be: no rules. I was going to write for me, just me. 

Let me tell you what my kind of writing looks like. In high school when we had to write a research paper, there was always a process. Each step earned you points towards your final grade. 

Step One: Pick a topic.

Ok, I could do that much. 

Step Two: Make notes about said topic on notecards. 

What? Sounds like busywork to me. No, thank you.

 

Step Three: Make a detailed outline of your paper.

 

How am I supposed to know what my paper is going to look like? I haven’t written it yet. 

Step Four: Write the rough draft. 

Sounds like I’m going to have to write the same paper twice. Redundant. 

Step Five: Write the final draft.

That’s more like it.

I would complete Step One and skip straight to Step Five. Drove my teachers crazy. I had no note cards to produce. No outline. I’d sit down and write the paper – the only version of the paper. Then I would go back and make an outline and jot some garbage down on some notecards (these two steps I did for the points). Always refused to write the rough draft, though. Again, I’m not in the business of writing the same paper twice.

In the end, my disgruntled teacher would give me an A. They hated my process; they loved the outcome.

I decided this is how I would write. No detailed plot. Just a vague idea of a beginning. Absolutely no – NO – outline. No character descriptions. No rhyme or reason. I’d just write.

That’s what I did.

Oh, the freedom! The joy in writing something just as I wanted. It was liberating!

I’d heard other authors talk about their characters “speaking” to them. Directing the story. Forcing the author into directions they’d never foreseen.

I thought these authors were crazy.

But when you write with pure freedom, when you really let loose, that’s when the characters speak. 

I’ve been surprised at my own scenes. Shocked by a sudden turn of events. I’ve seen my stories come to life before my eyes. 

I write my scenes out of order. Whatever scene I’m inspired to write at the time is where I begin. I fill in the holes later. If I’m stumped on my story, I switch to another project. I often have two or three going at once. This is the best way I’ve found to avoid writer’s block. 

Is this the right formula for everybody? No, of course not. This is my formula. This is what works for me. 

A writer is an artist. We can’t be boxed in by rules. We can’t be forced to follow one-size-fits-all formulas. We are creators. Designers. Dreamers. 

The best writing advice I can give anyone is simply this: follow your heart. Write the way you want to. The way that works best for you. It will be unique. It won’t look like the method of anyone else. But if you truly let go and let yourself feel that freedom, I believe you will find your success.

I know I did.