On Being a Writer
Writing was always something I’d considered as a career.
I was good at it; it gave me a voice, and it helped me get through rough patches of my childhood.
As a person who always felt unheard, telling stories through writing came quite naturally, and it gave me an outlet to announce my feelings to the world.
However, I never really knew what type of writer I wanted to be or how to make my dream a reality. I just knew I would prefer having the flexibility of a writing career to being stationed in an office working on accounting or business principles or whatever it is that math-oriented people tend to do on their jobs.
Instead, I wanted a career where I would always be able to use my creative thinking skills to develop catchy phrases and taglines. In other words, I wanted a career where I was working with words more than with numbers.
Eventually, I wanted to write inspiring and creative pieces that would help people who were struggling with emotional issues.
Since I knew I wanted to establish myself as a professional writer, I chose to major in English-Creative Writing at Winthrop University, and although there have been many people who have told me that I should have chosen a different undergraduate major, I believe this was the best choice I could have made.
Not only did I learn different styles of writing, ranging from poetry, prose, short stories, technical writing, and so on, I also learned how to analyze text, produce coherent thoughts, and be an effective editor. I even learned how to accept criticism when it came to my writing, which initially I had a hard time doing. My success at being able to apply all the new skills I had acquired from my studies motivated me to continue striving to develop even better skills and gain the experience I would need to establish myself as a professional writer.
All that changed when I graduated. My quirky enthusiasm and self-confidence turned into self-doubt as I struggled to find a job. I started regretting what I loved to do, and I actually stopped writing for fun. I began to despise people who thought that grammar and writing weren’t important. Social gatherings became awkward as I had to explain to people that I was unemployed.
Finally, something clicked. I was no longer going to allow rejection letters to stop me from accomplishing what I had always loved to do, write.
Once, that decision was made, more writing opportunities opened up, and my spirit was instantaneously lifted. I got an opportunity to be a writing intern for a community newspaper, and I became an editorial intern for a lifestyle magazine.
These experiences opened my eyes to interests that I had not thought of before, such as using multimedia elements to produce compelling news packages.
I no longer wanted to be just a pen and paper type of writer. I wanted to be a creative writer who was also efficient in using other storytelling methods for writing.
Hence, I am now getting a Master of Arts in New Media Journalism, where I am learning the tools I need to market myself as a versatile writer.
Today I can say, “Hi, my name is Tynisha, and I’m glad to be a writer.”
—
Tynisha Ferguson is an online graduate student at Full Sail University, a real-world education college for entertainment, media, and the arts. She is currently pursuing her Master of Arts degree in New Media Journalism and she has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English-Creative Writing with a minor in Social Sciences from Winthrop University. She is interning with Women Writers, Women Books on the journal as an editor and graphic designer on the Power and Knowing Issues of When Women Waken.
Find Tynisha on LinkedIn: https://www.
and on GenTwenty http://gentwenty.
Category: Being a Writer, Contemporary Women Writers
Comments (11)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Sites That Link to this Post
- On Being a Writer | Litteris | Scoop.it | April 23, 2014
Thank you for sharing. I think many, like myself, can relate to the insecurities and doubts related to the transitional phase before you are ready to embrace writing, no matter what.
Good for you. If folk really want to write, they can. it’s a big “if” though and it can get hard. Holding on to the dream is important.
Hi Tynisha, Thank you for sharing your story. I can certainly relate to the post-graduation panic of, “Oh my, is this right?!” as I slogged through unfulfilling part-time jobs until I finally landed a publishing job. Whew! Best of luck to you and I look forward to seeing more of your writing in the future!!
Hi Alex, Thanks for your comment! Knowing that someone else has experienced what I’m going through right now makes me feel loads better. I really enjoy hearing success stories of others because it lets me know that hard work does pay off.
Tynisha, thank you for sharing your story. I think many young people–including my own kids–feel that a writing career can’t be fulfilling and lucrative in today’s economy. But you are proving every day that it can be. I wish you all the luck in the world as you continue your studies and follow your dreams.
Thank you Mary. Best of luck to you as well in your future endeavors.
Tynisha, thank you for sharing your writing story here.
I love this:
“I no longer wanted to be just a pen and paper type of writer. I wanted to be a creative writer who was also efficient in using other storytelling methods for writing.”
There’s a stepping into the shoes of a writer bit that has to happen. I had to travel across country to be able to finally say “I am a writer.”
We’re delighted to have you on the team, and look forward to another post from you.
Anora McGaha, WWWB
Hi Anora, thank you for your comment and for having me be a part of the team. I have enjoyed every minute of working with such talented people and I look forward to writing another post for WWWB.
Your story is encouraging for young (even old) writers who struggle to make it our economic world. Thanks for sharing and giving me goose-bumps. I’m passing this on to my granddaughter who is torn about her majors for the same reasons. I tell her to follow her heart, now I can show her someone her age, not mine, who did.
Hi Mindy. I’m glad that you’ll be able to pass my story on to your granddaughter. I’m not sure if your granddaughter is planning on majoring in English or Journalism, but what I will say is that one thing that I’ve learned through my experience is that there are a lot of courses that I wish I’ve taken that weren’t in my course curriculum. A helpful hint for her would be to look at some job descriptions of anything that she’s interested in and then look at what skill set, they’re requiring and tell her to take courses and develop skills based on that then she can pretty much fit in with any company while she’s waiting to get that dream job.