To Be an Author
So, what do you have to do to be an author? Plot?
Not exactly.
What about foreshadow?
Uh, not quite.
Well, then what does it mean to be an author?
That, my friend, is up to you, but to me....
To me, being an author means telling my story the way I want to tell it. It means being able to create life—heck, even create worlds—with just the swish of a pencil.
To me, being an author means staying up late with tired eyes just to get in that last word—and enjoying every second of it. It means losing track of time because you were so absorbed in the moment. It means getting so lost in your world you seem to blur the lines between the real and the made up (sometimes, more often than not, I seem to wish the made up was real). It means constantly thinking up new ways to implement this idea or that idea or maybe this one or....you get the point.
Being an author goes much deeper than just knowing how to plot or foreshadow. Being an author is something that’s been rooted deep within me for a long time—ever since that Florida trip in 2012 when my mom gave me a green notebook in response to my constant claims of boredom. That year was when I knew I wanted to be an author—when I picked up that stump of a pencil and let my imagination take over. I still vividly remember the creativity flowing through my brain all the way down to the tip of lead that scrambled across the page. It was then that I had unknowingly taken up my role as an author. I sparked a flame in my mind that has yet to burn out—one that shines so bright it won’t ever burn out.
Now, nearly 8 years later, that flame has only gotten brighter. There is no way around it—no amount of sunscreen could ever block those rays, and i’m fine with it. Being an author has filled one of the missing pieces of my life puzzle. It has brought hours, days, and maybe even months, of joy and accomplishment. being an author is who I am—it’s a part of me.
So, what does it mean to be an author you ask? The answer may vary across the board, but to me, it means living out a dream I’d always dreamt of. Finally being able to grasp onto the word “author” and call it my own. I’ll take that title with dignity and never let it go—it’s mine to hold onto. Being an author means being able to be the person I’d always wanted to be. To be an author means to be me—Margaret C. Beeler.
“Thats the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”