When I was in my 20s I was really set on being a writing after completing my first novel length manuscript. It was quite an accomplishment and I felt wonderful about it. I was convinced that writing was absolutely for me and that I was going to be successful at it. That was quite a while ago now.

I gave up on the dream for a long time after the first contract and publisher didn’t materialize into anything substantial. I figured that some combination of me not being good enough, not having enough time to focus on writing and the market being difficult to break into was responsible and besides, I had kids and a teaching career by then to focus on.

I always knew I was a good storyteller though. I figured that even if I never made it as a commercial writer that I could still write and tell stories because I love it. So I kept writing. A little here and a little there I kept going. A few poems, a few short stories and even occasionally writing something longer kept my toes in the water. Slowly I was getting a little better at the craft. A friend of mine gave me a couple books about writing and I continued to wonder if I should spend more time putting stories together. Then I did.

I rediscovered the passion I had for writing and storytelling and I have been putting in legitimate effort into it since. That was about a year ago now and I know that I will not likely stop. I am telling better stories than ever and writing better than ever. And I love every minute of it.

It had me wondering. Is there a reason I’m a better storyteller now? Absolutely! Besides the obvious answer with regards to time and practice to get better, I believe that I know more now or have more wisdom if you like than I did when I was young. This may seem self evident of course but when I was young I had no idea. I was grappling with issues and life in a way that was unrefined and I failed to understand a great number of things that I now do with more age and experience. I’m sure this is true of most writers and honestly, many were not successful until they were much older.

I’m inching my way towards 40 and I am confident that as I continue to grow wiser and better at the craft, my writing will become even better. Maybe I will even be commercially successful at some point. Even if I do not, I will always love writing and will continue to do it for the sake of doing so.