The Other Side of the Writing Wall

Keith writing on his new iMac!

Keith says: I’m a writer. You’re a writer. How did we get here?

The Other Side of the Wall

Part 3

Because it bears repeating:

“The first thing you have to know about writing is that it is something you must do every day. There are two reasons for this rule: getting the work done and connecting with your unconscious mind.

“If you want to finish this novel of yours within a year, there’s not a moment to lose. There’s no time to wait for inspiration. I write three hours every morning. It’s the first thing I do, Monday through Sunday, 52 weeks a year.”

This is a direct quote from master storyteller Walter Mosley, one of the nation’s best mystery writers and one of my all-time favorites. And as I also said last week, I would be lying if I said I was able to maintain a regimen as disciplined as Mosley’s, but it definitely gives me something to aspire to. And I can honestly say that I do write, on average, at least five days a week, and usually six. And one of the reasons why I can’t dedicate three hours every morning to the craft like Mosley is because I am also a full-time musician so I have to divide my time and then still leave enough time for family.

I know. Excuses, excuses, excuses. But hey, it was a nice try, wasn’t it?

Anyway, moving forward I thought this week I would talk a bit about how I got into the business of writing. Or, more specifically, how I knew I had been called to the craft. Because, truth be told, I don’t think most writers – or musicians – choose to become either. The truth is that the craft chooses you.

Where it all began for me, at least according to my mother, was when I was about three years old. She still has the photograph she took of me wearing nothing but my pajama top reaching up on tiptoe trying to hammer out my frustrations on the typewriter. But even before that my mother used to read Dr. Seuss stories to me practically every day.  Dr. Seuss and my mother are the ones who taught me how to read. Also my father would frequently come to my bedside and tell me stories that he made up on the spot just to help me get to sleep. And one thing they both agreed on for sure was that there would be no baby talk. I never once heard any such word as ‘pee pee’ or ‘wee wee’ or any other such garbage. I was taught that if I needed to use the bathroom then to say so using those exact words. I think they figured if I started off talking like a blubbering idiot then that’s very possibly how I might end up.

Saying all of this to say that I didn’t stumble upon my love of words and stories by accident. There was definitely some help from the family. But despite the commitment my parents made to teaching me how to read and write at a very early age, I am convinced that my evolving passion for writing stories came from somewhere else, somewhere inside of me. My parents brought the wood, but the fire came from within.

If you’re a writer, then you know it. And don’t ever let anyone tell you different. Because you have a job to do, and time spent arguing with those who are trying to convince you to do something else that makes sense for them but not for you, the more essential time you waste being somebody else for the sake of somebody else instead of being you. And being happy.

There’s no law against that, you know. Being happy is still legal. Check it out if you don’t believe me.

You can find Keith A. Owens on the other side of the writing wall at Writing It Right For You or and on Twitter.