I've been a writer all my life. I wrote letters a lot when I was growing up. No one called long distance unless it was an emergency. Then I read the book, Anne Frank - A Diary of a Young Girl. So I got a diary and wrote.  In fifth grade, my teacher chose me to write an article for the local newspaper that featured my byline and picture.  In high school, I had study hall, and used most of the time to write bad poetry and more.  Usually about what I wanted in life, or my feelings and thoughts. Teenage stuff.  Then I grew up and got a job. At first, the job didn't require much writing, but I still kept a journal.   Then, with more time and experience, the jobs required writing. Policies and procedures, personnel manuals, product descriptions, grants, and newsletters.  And back to letters. Only they weren't to my friends and family but to Federal Agencies, regulators of various kinds, corporations, banks, etc. Not fun.  Whatever needed writing, I wrote it, even acknowledgments for memorial donations. I didn't have a lot of time to journal in those years. I was lucky to get six hours of sleep and to work on time. But after all those years of writing, the only time I wrote a fictional story was in my high school senior year creative writing class. I don't remember what I wrote, but I do remember that one of the girls in class had a serious crush on the young teacher. So much for that. 

When I retired from working and writing for others, I determined to write for myself. It didn't happen all at once. My husband has this incredible story of growing up abroad, and everyone kept telling me I should 'write a book' about it. So I did. It took three years and several extensive rewrites before I published my first book, Walking In Deep Sand.  I dismissed the idea of getting an agent and a traditional publishing deal.  I'm a nobody! But getting that book out and into readers' hands was like learning Greek.  But I got it done.  I'm a committed and determined person. Now I wanted to become a real author. But I knew I needed to learn about the publishing business and how to be a better writer. Writing for myself worked the first time, but now I want to write for readers, too.  I got Writer's Digest, which contained information on literary agents and publishers, how to write a query letter, and much more. I studied, but my feeble attempts were not successful.   I discovered I couldn't learn everything I need to know without some direction. I'm good at research and never give up, but some things require an experienced guide.  I stumbled on a writing group which promised all that. I joined and for almost two years, I read, wrote, zoomed, traded pages with my writing partners, critiqued queries, and received some critiques in return. I learned a lot.  It was worth the time and dedication. Not that I've arrived. I'm still working hard and still striving to write books and find readers to entertain. 

If you want to be a writer, write. Every day. A word, a paragraph, a page. Just sit down and do it. I have no problem with that. I learned that kind of discipline years ago, but distraction is ever present.  And usually the distractions are those we love. It's a balancing game that we, especially as women,  understand very well.  I'm still learning and I'm still writing. As long as I can sit down and put my fingers on the keyboard, the writing will go on.  If you're a writer, you know. :)  I wish you all the best!