In the beginning…
Okay, maybe not that far back.
I have always considered myself an artist first. As a child, all I wanted to do was draw. I was always doodling one thing or another.
When I began writing as a teenager, it never occurred to me that I wasn’t just an artist anymore.
And when I stopped writing stories and simply journaled (and drew), I was still just an artist.
Then I wrote my first book and I realized perhaps I was a writer.
But I was also published, so that made me… an author?
And then I won an award for Speak Tenderly To Her, so now I was an award-winning author.
And another one of my books shot to the top ten on Amazon, so… an award-winning Amazon best-selling author?
Ugh.
I am not bragging, not complaining about any of that. I am proud of my achievements, but at some point in the process, I got caught up in the labels, ignoring the uneasy, imposter-ish feelings growing inside of me. I mean, yes, those things were true, but… was I all that when all I wanted was to write?
When I finally came to terms with being an author, and more importantly, calling myself one, my viewpoint changed once more. Or rather I changed. I decided to get an understanding of the importance of the story.
I am the type of person that has to break things down to their most basic form to understand them. I ask, why? until that thing makes sense. Or it doesn’t and I move on. That’s what I did with writing. I came to understand that this craft—writing—isn’t about the book. Or publishing. Or the things we think defines authors. It’s about the story, plain and simple. Fiction or non-fiction, there’s a story to be told, a story the audience is waiting to read, a tale the author is trying to share. The story is about the characters, the conflicts and challenges they face, the ups and downs of life, the beginning we read, the ending we come to, the journey we take.
Admittedly, that’s a very basic/very AuDHD view of it. Which probably enables me to keep focus on the story alone. And doing the story well.
For me, writing was never not an option, but I wanted to write well. I wanted to make sure that what I wrote makes sense. Because if the story isn’t right, then the book won’t be either.
Understanding all this made me decide that the only label I would assume was that of the storyteller. Whether I’m published, offer up the story on a fanfic website, serialize it, or leave it in my journal for only me to read, what I am… nay, what I do is tell stories. That’s it.
Ruth E. Griffin 