The other week, I put a stick of deodorant in our terrarium by the front door. Why? To see if my husband would notice. He did—and he barely blinked an eye. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was used to me and my eccentricities.

It’s one of the many things I like about being a writer. Not just a copywriter, a writer.

The quirkiness

Even in this day and age when uniqueness is (rightfully) applauded and encouraged, writers still get more room than many to be a bit more strange.

“She has 53 rubber ducks in her bathroom? Oh, she’s a writer. Okay then.”

Most of all, I love the quirkiness that naturally come with being a creative professional. I feel like myself.

The writing instruments

Whether you have a single favorite one or a favored army of writing instruments, there’s a bond. Pen, pencil, ergonomic keyboard that took years of internet scouring to find. That’s your Excalibur.

Your writing instrument is the point at which your ideas become tangible.

And the feeling when you find the one, the right one, is like finding a long-lost friend. On the other hand, when you find a fancy new one, you can almost feel the fireworks in your heart.

Or is that just me?

The power

Choose the right words and you can move mountains, create worlds, tell stories, build entire universes, build brands, move people and (drumroll please) even make a living.

• A well-built library of marketing collateral can help build a business.
• A timely blog post can compel someone to start writing more of their passion projects.
• A simple tweet exchange can inspire someone to start a simple blog series.

At the other end of your written work is someone cheering, “Yes! That’s it!”

Sometimes you won’t realize the difference your writing makes because you don’t see the reader’s reaction. Other times, your writing only needs to be powerful for you because it’s for you alone. And that’s powerful enough—and probably the root of our journal accumulation.

The journals

Having gotten to know a fair share of fellow writers, I’ve noticed we attract booklets and journals like electronics attract dust. Just POP!, and there’s another one…in the hands.

Not sure how that happened, but this journal is now mine.

Cheap or fancy, lined or unlined, giant or tiny; doesn’t matter. It’s ours now.

I just did another purge of my home office. And I let go of only one journal.

The humility

One day you’re on top of the world, feeling like a creative powerhouse. Maybe even this generation’s Papa Hemingway. You’re on a roll. Putting out great work. Hardly a writer’s block in sight. Nothing but positive feedback.

Then someone points out a typo.

Or asks you a grammatical question to which you don’t have the answer.

Or refers to the Chicago Manual of Style to prove you wrong.

Or questions your comma usage.

You. Jerk.

Your upper eyelids slam down on the lower ones as your inward cringe manifests itself outwardly.

Being a writer is rather like having a cat. No matter how great you may think you are on any given day, you’ll never be immune to being proven wrong at a moment’s notice. If you’re a good writer, and by that I mean constantly listening to feedback and working on your craft, you’ll never get too big for your britches.

Pretty damn healthy.

What about you? What do you love best about being a writer? Share in the comments.
Yours, Ducky