How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m going to write a book,” or talk about how they would just love to quit their “day” job and become a full time writer.

Writing has always appeared to be a glamorous profession, a job which has only the requirements of finding computer keyboard, a typewriter or even just a pen and pad. But the reality of sitting down to write is something else. 

What kind of an idea will make a good story? Where do writers get all those ideas?  What if I suddenly get writer’s block in the middle of the book?  How will I come up with characters? What if no one ever wants to read my book?  Shudder, shudder – what if I can’t get it published? Suddenly there are lots of questions and very few answers.

For the dedicated souls who really want to write, some of these questions never come up.  Those people are writers who can’t seem to help themselves. They must write. Nothing can stop them. If they weren’t putting words on paper they would go insane.  They were born to be writers. Even if no one reads their work, they would want to write.

How can you tell if you’re the person with just the urge or that driven writer filled with dedication.  There’s only one way to find out – sit down and write.  If you’ve always done it, then you should already know the answer.  But some people have the aptitude and don’t realize it.  Some people want to try but have never had the nerve. Whatever has kept you away from writing, you need to know that the only way to find out if you can write, or want to write, is to sit down at the computer keyboard or take that pen and paper in hand and start putting down words.

Just like so many things, you need to make that first commitment. Whether you need to write it down or make an internal decision, the first step is to make that commitment to write. Real writers write everyday. Stephen King and Nora Roberts, both highly prolific writers, tell audiences that they look at their work as a full time job and spend eight hours a day at their writing.

Whether it be journaling your thoughts or writing down a fantastic tale, if you plan on being a writer you should be writing every day. Make the commitment to write at least a page or two. Don't start with a fantastic goal to have your book finished in a month unless you enter a speed writing group. You can write 1 page, 50 words or just a few sentences, but make the commitment to writing something everyday.

Exercises to get started:

• Write down the commitment to write everyday
• Write a journal entry before you go to bed at night
• Write a description of the morning sunrise while you drink your first cup of coffee
• Write a plot outline based on a news item you hear on the morning news
• Make a list of story ideas
• Write a description of a neighbor or husband or wife