Story Cafe

Sarah:

You sound just like me, and I think I can help you! Unfortunately, there is a harsh truth to face. That story that is bouncing and morphing and boiling inside your mind will continue to do so for a long, long time. I have just now, at age thirty-six, been able to find the discipline and the skill to find my voice and trust it. It was a very long process - over twenty years - for me to truly feel able to become a publishable writer. But alas, I do not feel as if I am making myself clear. Let me try a different angle.

You say you are in college and have an active social life. Do not feel guilty about this. You have plenty of time. You said it yourself: the story is morphing often based on your experiences, and at your age, you are in one of the most actively engaged age-groups for understanding the world, life, your values and beliefs, and your role. You will not be the same person a few years out of college that you are now. Love, marriage, children, a career, and so many other experiences will fundamentally change your outlook in the years to come. Let your story "cook," live your life, learn from your mistakes, write as often as possible, polish your craft, search for your voice, meet new people, pay attention to them, fall in love, let life happen and your story will be seasoned with all of these things and be better for it. As long as you are improving as a writer (grammar, vacabulary, sentence structure, etc.), you are doing really all you can expect yourself to do at your age. You mentioned research, but that is exactly what you are doing every day you navigate around campus or sit through a lecture, write a paper, or cram for an exam. Every party you attend or date you have, all of these things are research for you at this point.

Know that if you desire to write is a life-long pursuit, you will always return to it, and each time you do, your story will be better and your skills more refined until you reach a point where the circumstances in your life allow for you to begin laying it out for all of us to read. Do not punish yourself that you do not have time, now. You are still finding yourself. Keep looking and reflect, but taking the step now to record for posterity where you are may force you to produce a story that is nowhere near ready.

I am interested in your plight and your growth, and would always be open to talk, read, edit, or give you feedback. Don't be a stranger!

Sincerely,
Patrick