There is No There to Get to

Writer: Claire Fullerton

I began writing by keeping a journal I knew no one would ever see. Nobody suggested I do this, but I felt compelled at a young age from the depth of that interior chamber that tells a person who they essentially are and what they should be doing.

I’m a stream of consciousness writer. Even when I’m writing a story, I write whatever I’m thinking. I have a running inner monologue that interprets the world and directs me when I’m writing. What began as a desire to understand myself in a journal evolved into a daily habit, then one bright day, I looked through my journals and discovered I have a particular way of experiencing life’s vagaries. The realization brought my writing into focus. I thought maybe I could forge a career, so, I got to work. I read voraciously and paid scrutinous attention to word usage, flow, and craft, reasoning that the more clarity I brought to language, the better  chance I’d have of gaining a reader’s understanding.

Here’s what happened when I committed to the discipline of writing: I fell in love with the process. I stopped looking over my own shoulder when I realized there is no “there” to get to with writing, only a deepening appreciation of the steps along the path.

I once thought calling myself a writer meant I needed to earn a platform that gave me permission to write. I was wrong about that and now know why. The world didn’t have to tell me I’m a writer before I realized I am one. Being a writer starts with giving yourself permission to be one; however you choose to experience the writer’s journey is ultimately in your own hands.

I believe all writers write for the same reason, which has something to do with wanting to compare notes in this business of living. Whether we’re published, or by whom is not the point, the point is all writers are on the same path, propelled by an inexplicable urge to communicate, in whichever way they choose to tell a story.

About the writer:

Claire Fullerton is the traditionally published author of four novels and one novella. She hails from Memphis, Tennessee and lives in Malibu, California.

Website: clairefullerton.com

Writer’s podcast episode, HERE.