“Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.” -William James
First, I love what the James brothers contributed to the world. Henry James as a writer; fantastic and William with his work in psychology, fascinating.
The thing about beginning now what you will be is that you must have some idea of what that is. I decided I was a writer 10 years ago. Then I dove in. The world expanded more and more as I learned all the different ways writing adds to our lives. I learned very quickly the value of storytelling. But saying I wanted to be a writer was like saying I wanted to be a woman. There are a million types of women in the world. It’s just very vague.
After experimenting with it all, I eventually decided where I wanted to be as writer. I mean, I don’t like to put myself in a box but writing novels is exactly where I want to be. (I also love writing about art. Maybe someday I’ll write a monograph.) The thing is that it’s not just putting words on a page that I love. It’s the entire process, writing, editing hell, cover art, connecting with other writers, inspiring them, letting them inspire me, the culture, the purpose, the sales, the message, and all the other little annoying things aren’t annoying enough to turn me off completely.
The wild thing about all this is that I could decide in 5 years that I want to be something else or some other kind of writer.
That means I’m alive. It means I’m in that state of accepting myself where I am while I continue to be someone that’s becoming. I think it’s something beautiful.
Who are you now?
Jayne.press 