January 17, 2013

• IS IT TOO LATE TO UNBOTTLE?

  

  “Artists who begin late are sometimes said to unbottle.” said Nanuzzi.

  Excerpt from Duma Key by Stephen King

  
  
  

  I have always dreamed of being a writer.
  

  When I was much younger than I am now; I took a creative writing course.  Before the course ended, my instructor called me aside and told me that I had a talent for writing and that I should pursue a career in it.  I thanked him and walked away.  At the time, I was raising three children, trying to make a second marriage work and had just started a job in the banking industry that offered an opportunity for growth and a career.  So, I stuffed my dreams of writing in a bottle and moved on.
  

  A few years ago, I decided to sign up for online writing courses, curious to see if I did have any talent in that direction.  During the courses, I found that I not only enjoyed writing, but I was also surprised that I liked my writing, and so did my instructors.  But, once again, I turned my back on my ambitions and continued on with my life.
  

  I believe that I hesitated to pursue my dream, not due to a lack of time or obligations I had, but because I had a lack of self-confidence and a fear of rejection.  So, the dream was kept in a bottle for most of my life.

  Last year, I decided to once again dip my toes into the waters of writing.  I had heard about blogging, and felt that it was a low-risk method of trying to write something that people might actually read.  I searched around the Internet; looked into numerous blog sites and settled on Xanga as a permanent residence for my efforts.

  I started off slow, did more reading than actual posting, and when I did post, it was an impersonal and silly piece that I had written a while back for one of my writing classes.  I was stunned when I got comments and even more stunned when people actually liked it!  

  Lately, I have found that my posts have taken on more of a personal note.  I find that my talent lies in writing about life experiences or issues that have deep meaning for me.  I am quite proud of some of the writing I’ve done when I’ve stayed in this area; although I will still post silly articles because they make me laugh!  But, I will leave the writing of the next great american novel to someone more experienced and motivated than I.

  I was quite pleased when another website contacted me and asked to publish two of my pieces on their website.  It proved to me that some people actually liked my efforts. I am very close to actually sending out some of my work to publishers, as I feel I can handle rejection now, much more so than when I was younger.

  Unbottling can be unsettling.  Ideas bombard my thoughts and I have to keep a pad around, so I can use the ideas in the future.  But, I no longer keep those ideas and my ambition to write kept bottled up.  

  So, is it ever to late to unbottle?  I don’t think so…what about you?

   

   

   

   

   

  • 9:13 am
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