“I want to become a writer.”
I said that to myself and wrote it down on a vision board more than a decade ago.
And then I took a step towards that decision and signed up for an account on UpWork.
The journey for me to become a writer was a long one. It took me a long time to finally embrace my passion and dive into writing as a career. 27 years if we’re going to be technical about it.
But why did I choose a career in writing over business management?
I already worked as a manager for several companies even before I finished college. In fact, my work as a manager in a call center was what put me through college in the first place.
The thing is, as soon as I graduated from Business school, I thought: “What now?”
I couldn’t compete with my peers who graduated from better schools and I sure as hell knew my level of education wasn’t as high as theirs. I also knew that as soon as I got the position, I’d start hating it and begin the countdown to the end.
So here I am.
Not yet as big a success as I imagined I would become but I’m happy and I get to earn a living as a writer.
If you want to become a writer, you should simply start writing.
Start Writing
This is pretty obvious, right?
Sure. It’s a crucial step in your journey to become a writer but it’s one that most people never really take.
Oh, don’t worry, unless you’re one of those outliers, your writing is going to suck at first. I know my writing sucked when I was just starting out to become a writer.
But I kept at it.
I had a few months where I was literally starving. I was living in a tiny shed converted into a room, the only piece of furniture I had was a donated mattress from my aunt, and a small table, and a chair provided by the landlord.
That was it.
I lived a spartan life.
I basically did nothing but write, learn how to write, and write some more.
But it was the best time of my life as a writer. I was working for an article mill. I was grossly underpaid. I was churning out 5,000 words a day to make a decent living. After my work was done, I’d eat, read a book about writing, doze off, and start again the next day.
I got to know who I was, how determined I could get, and the lengths I would go to follow my dreams.
So, if you’re dreaming of becoming a writer, become a writer by taking that crucial step and start writing. <— This cheesy passage will haunt my dreams for years.
Believe That You’ll Eventually Become a Writer
I could’ve graduated with a BA in English but I took a more practical course in Business Administration. I could’ve automatically had the credentials needed to prove I was a writer instead of having to answer a lot of “whys”.
Why was I doing this? Why didn’t I apply for a managerial position? And my favorite “Why write?”
My first job as a writer when I got to Davao was to manage a team of writers. So, I was more of an “editor”, trainer, and manager than an actual writer. I couldn’t call myself a writer then.
It took a solid year before I wrested back control of my destiny and forged a path toward getting that elusive title of “writer”.
That’s how I landed a job in an article mill. Oh, the pay was dismal. But the experience I got out of that was something I would never trade for anything. PS I wouldn’t recommend anyone going that route.
Becoming a writer is a personal journey. You either become one through a college education, as a hobby, or, in my case, because of practical reasons.
Sure, it was initially a passion of mine. A serious hobby to be exact. I just wanted to make money out of writing. And I took a long, hard journey to get to where I am now.
I just couldn’t call myself a writer until I fully immersed myself in writing as a profession.
Here’s my tip to you guys: don’t be too hard on yourselves. If you want to become a writer, start writing and have the courage to call yourself a writer. If you’re really serious about writing, you’ll eventually become one.
Try to get a job as a writer and put in the hard work.
Make Time to Write
It’s been ten years since I became a writer.
A lot has changed.
I now have added responsibilities.
I have a wife and a son whom I have to make time for. Cooking, cleaning the house, and giving the baby a bath, are just part of my daily routine.
I used to have the majority of my day devoted to writing and learning how to write better. These days, I’m lucky enough to squeeze in 8 hours of work into 4 hours or less.
A man’s got to rest, right?
One thing I learned when I took a creative writing class through Udemy was this: make time for writing at least 10 minutes a day.
Now this isn’t just writing for writing’s sake. You actually have to take it seriously and focus on writing something for ten minutes. Now what you may get at the end of the exercise isn’t gold but you’ll have exercised a part of your brain that will get better as you progress.
Think of it as going to the “brain” gym.
When you’re done with that, you can now focus on writing as a profession. That was just for your personal writing development.
Over the years, I have actually trained myself to write a 1000 word article in as little as 15 minutes. It all starts with having best practices, a large dose of discipline, experience (of course), and focus.
Make time to write for your personal development. Write even if you don’t have a client. Everything will pay off in the end.
Disconnect from the Rest of the World and Connect with Yourself
I didn’t realize it at that time but leaving the comforts and job security I knew I had in Manila for parts unknown was my way of disconnecting from the rest of the world so I could focus on becoming a writer.
I knew I was putting myself in a situation where I would have to push past my boundaries. Davao was a strange place for me.
Writing as a career was a scary proposition.
It still is.
But I had to become a recluse to become a writer.
And somehow, it worked.
I obviously can’t do it nowadays because I have a family but I can still disconnect from the rest of the world by writing early in the morning. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a dad and giving my all but I also need time for myself.
A time to collect my thoughts.
Recollect.
And so, even though I’m a morning person, I work late at night so as not to be disturbed.
You see, you can disconnect from the rest of the world simply by shutting the door and being by yourself. Remove all of the distractions in your life for a brief moment. Turn everything off except the tools you need to get the job done.
We live in a world where we’re always connected. Think of this “me-time” as a treat to yourself.
A way to get to know yourself better.
Even if you don’t get to write anything, you at least put the time in to connect with the most important person in your life.
You.
We’re Going to Try and Help You Become a Writer
Still here?
Cool.
This site has been up for three years. We haven’t really done anything with it except treat it as a placeholder.
As a recap:
- Start writing
- Believe you’ll eventually become a writer
- Make time to write
- Disconnect yourself from the rest of the world
Start your journey and keep at it and you’ll eventually become a writer.
—
So, after talking about what to do with it, we’ve come to the decision to help as many people become writers.
It’s a lofty ambition.
Especially since we’re not really English majors.
But it’s a start.
Who knows, maybe down the line we’ll get a proper teacher teaching you young people how to become a writer. We’ll probably have ebooks and more articles covering the different aspects of writing.
Maybe a few videos?
A podcast?
Comment below if you have any questions or comments as to how we can best do this.
That’s all for now.
Tata!