Where to begin…?

I have written a lot. Ninety percent of it will never see the light of day. My laptop, my notebook, my handbag full of handwritten notes on scrap pieces of paper, all full of light bulb moments where I have started off a day just existing in my little life but am then engulfed by a wave of inspiration. I have written all sorts as well. Fantasy stories, documentary reviews, weird and wonderful nonsense stories. The truth is, I don’t really know what to write about, or what to focus on. Is it acceptable for a writer to write about so many different genres? Is it normal to want to write about everything you encounter? 

I always fancied myself as a writer. But I wouldn’t consider myself any good. Not yet at least. Today I learned about the ‘inverted pyramid’ format that journalists often use to write their articles. I must be honest; writing is far more complicated than I first thought. Or is it just journalism that seems so complicated? This is where my novice self (or perhaps naive) wonders if I can do this. But again, it brings me back to my question, what should I write about? How does one know what they are good at? Do I go with what my heart tells me to, or what other people say I am better at? Does a person have to be natural to be good at something, or get good to be natural? (…whoa, I’ll save that mighty philosophical question for another day!)

I feel a bit lost as to what to focus on, and whether this is a normal way to feel. I always did well at English in my school years and wrote a LOT of academic essays when I was at university. My degrees have absolutely nothing to do with writing by the way. I trained to be a nurse but ended up working in a hotel (which serves me well I just say).

Do I just put what I’ve written out to the world and see which one gets traction? Or shall I focus solely on one route? I have so many questions. I thought perhaps that one way to get a grasp of this is to first write down a few facts about me. Visually seeing something written down is such a helpful way to declutter the thoughts. So, this is me I guess, let the facts commence!

Fact: I love to read psychological thrillers, crime, mysteries, anything that is like a puzzle (with lots of plot twists!). I like science, films (big movie buff!) and documentaries. I am also a sucker for a good old romcom now and then.

Fact: I love doing word searches. But it has to be a good old fashion pencil and paper word search. Not on a phone or screen. It’s something about the monotonous gliding up and down each column with a pencil unscrambling the letters in my head I find immensely soothing. It’s like 18th century equivalent to today’s Doom scrolling I guess. I am NOT a fan of social media by the way. I use it perhaps now and then, but it can be months in between.

Fact: I will watch any sort of documentary. Literally anything. I love them.  

Fact: I have a good imagination for romance and crime but I lose track of my story when I write about it. Though I am not sure if this is because I don’t know what I’m doing yet (I am not trained in creative writing, I just do it because I like it).  

Fact: I am definitely an extroverted introvert. I love people, I find people interesting, and I love to be around people when I’m working. I am a warm and chatty person. I feel people would often describe me as “outgoing” which might be true to some extent. But when I am at home I want to be by myself or with my family. I don’t like going out anymore. The thought of having to socialise after work, for example, fills me with that “yuk” feeling (I am just being honest, don’t judge me).

Fact: I definitely work better with facts. 

Fact: I think I need to do some sort of writing course. 

Another fact: I don’t know why I’m writing fact again, but I like it.  

Possible solutions: 

Option 1: Just keep on writing in this free-for-all chaos and hope for the best.  

Option 2: Go to uni. Submerge myself into it for however long, come out the worlds next best writer.  

Option 3: Compromise and find an online part-time course and learn whilst still writing in my own time.  

Option 4: Give up, admit defeat. Accept I am not a writer.  

If anyone reading this wants to submit a vote on which option I should choose, please do so below:  

(please tick box accordingly)

1 [_] 2 [_] 3 [_] 4 [_]

I’ll see what result I get.