It’s fair to say that dreaming of being a writer is something that many people go through. If you watch any movie with a female protagonist, then there’s a chance that she’s a writer – from How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days through to the more recent 13 Reasons Why.

The problem with the phrase “being a writer” is that it’s incredibly vague. It’s akin to saying “being a doctor”, with no acknowledgement that there’s so many different types of doctors. There are almost as many different types of writer as there are doctors, too – so if you’re serious about making words your living, then you have to start to narrow it down.

Actually doing so is more difficult. Do you want to reference pop culture? Play with satire? Write fiction? Perhaps you even fancy screenwriting, completing the circle of writers writing movies about people who want to be writers?

Or what if there’s nothing in particular that attracts you. Is it possible to just write about being you?

Is Your Life Interesting?

‘Interesting’ is an opaque term, as it can mean anything to anyone. For some, a life of playing puzzles every evening and fostering cats would be incredibly boring. For others, that’s exactly the kind of thing they want to read about.

It’s safe to say that – no matter what your life is about – there is someone who wants to know about it. Essayists and those who write memoirs don’t have to be famous or have gone through something challenging – there is a beauty, and an audience, for even the most mundane of existences. You can write about what you love, what you experience, what makes you different. Speaking of…

Do You Have A Unique Take?

If you want to write about your life, your experiences, and your views, then you have to be coming at these issues from a unique point of view. There’s no point expecting to be able to throw together a book about what you bought from the grocery store. However, if you can write the same book and throw in anecdotes about what you learnt, or even how you made your purchases to save money, that might work.

How Do You Get Started?

There’s no positions you can apply for saying “people who are themselves and want to write about it, apply within!” – so how do you begin?

The most obvious answer is right here in front of you: blogging. Blogging is all about life experiences, different takes, people putting their private thoughts onto the internet. If that sounds too invasive, then you can blog under a chosen name or anonymity.

If you manage to build a readership, then you can look into publishing your own collection of essays or even a memoir. It’s relatively easy to do nowadays; you don’t need a book deal when you can self-publish, a graphic designer for your cover when you can click here and do it yourself, a PR agent when you can run your own Twitter account and do your own marketing.

Alternatively, you can use your blog as a collection of examples of your writing. You can then pitch essays, thoughts, and opinion pieces to any website or blog that is accepting them. While it may be difficult to get established, just remember that someone, somewhere, is waiting for a personal experience like yours to be shared – so why not try it and see?