I am in the process of not only developing a writing habit but also developing an identity as a writer. I want to proudly tell people I am a writer, that writing isn’t just something I do but something I am.

I have written about a page a day for the past eight years, after meditation, but it is not enough. I must go beyond the pages of a journal or even this blog and into the ether that is storytelling.

One of my many inspirations in this world is Hugh Howley, author of the acclaimed SILO series.

Hugh mentions the difference between being an amateur writer and being an acclaimed author. A shift from interested to obsessed.

He describes the path it took to create the SILO series. He was writing from an emotional place, a place that bled into the characters of his first draft.

From there, he says it grew naturally and formed like a sculpture from a ball of clay, though the idea was tucked away in his mind long before it made its way into books across the nation.

An idea of any size takes shape over time, culminating yet ignored by most of us—the separation between that which is great and that which is not is measured by awareness.

The more we are aware, aka mindful, the more we can find those ideas that can spark something in us, then write them down, record them, or create something from them (like a business, piece of music, or work of art).

But it is not enough to just be aware, we must also take action (intention). There are three focus points to mindfulness:

Awareness – of the body and mind in the present moment

Emotion – how we are feeling in the present moment

Intention – of what we dream to be in the present moment

Our greatest selves are here in the present moment, already complete.

When we start from this place, we can go anywhere because we aren’t trying to “complete” or “achieve” anything.

Actualization – from idea to identity.

Luckily, I just want to be a writer to become one. The passion is built into me. Now, the discipline must follow, and then I’ll have a rhythm – a daily practice that can produce incredible results.

Yet, each obstacle in my way of being a writer is but a building block to the writer I want to become.

What I love about books is that the author behind each story is different, and yet some series of obstacles shaped them all.

What I love about writing is that it is the very expression of the soul, sometimes bound together in and shared with other souls, and sometimes kept only for one’s own soul.