"Letter to a Young Writer" Richard Bausch

Every morning I wake up with one goal: write. Whether it be one page, one paragraph or simply notes for a piece, the only thing I set out to accomplish is to write, even if there are several other things that I should be focusing on that day. For the most part, the ‘Ten Commandments’ presented by Richard Bausch are extremely close to the rules I live by when it comes to writing. I’ve learned that everything I write is not going to be a masterpiece, and a lot of things will never been read by anyone other than myself. In the past that was frustrating - Why can’t everything I write be worth reading? - but it’s something I’ve come to accept and even understand. Most of what Bausch lays out in “Letter to a Young Writer” are things that have become a part of my writing and everyday life. On top of those “commandments,” these words are completely true to my life: “We are habit-forming creatures, and this work is very habit-forming if one has any talent at all. Of course, you don’t know when you begin if you really have any talent. You hope you do; perhaps you even suspect that you do. Sometimes you go back and forth, believing on some days, and disbelieving on others.” There are plenty of times when I’m not sure if writing is something I’m good at, but then I have difficulties getting something out on paper, those days when words just aren’t working the way I feel they should. Those are the days, I believe, when my talent in writing shows the most. I may not be creating those days, but the habit of writing and wanting to write, and feeling absolutely horrified when I’m unable to, show the important role that writing has in my life. As Bausch says, even if you fail in writing sometimes, at least you’re working on it and you don’t have to ask yourself if you missed valuable writing time.