Everything everywhere has someone who tries to gate-keep it. Self-proclaimed professionals who have seen some success in their subject and used that success to somehow plump up an exaggerated self-importance. They will move the goal posts, tell individuals, "No, no, not like that. If you want to be (in this case) a writer, you have to behave in this specific manner".
Let's talk about that.
But, first, a bit of an introduction.
Over the years, and I do mean many many years (I’m ancient, doncha know), I’ve tried starting a blog. I do well for a few weeks and then I always fall off. I think the key for me here is going to be something I tell my patients all the time. It’s going to be: being kind to myself. I used to have goals of weekly blogs. Well, I know better than that. I think a new, much more doable goal would be two monthly. Maybe one every other week. It’ll keep the mind juices flowing and the ideas formulating. I hesitated on starting a blog at all, in all honesty. What should the tone be? Formal? Should I write as I do for short stories? I decided, no. I want to be informal. I want to write as if I’m writing to my friends. I want my readers to hear a natural voice and a natural wit—such as it was.
I’ve been far more into writing the last year and half, but for probably about two years, I didn’t write a lot. Depression and mental health struggles really dampened my gift and drive. Since I’ve been out of ‘the scene’ for so long, I thought, “ah, hell, I’m a bit rusty. I need to rebuild a name. Get some recognition out there. Maybe even use some of the new tools available for writers out there." I’m sorry to say I absolutely abhor AI for idea creation and plot development. It lacks soul, and the ideas are contrived. I’ve yet to get anything usable from it. I gave up. ew. I joined a few websites for free “writing classes” and read blogs and Reddit forums. Reddit has been great, but some of the websites have been less than helpful.
And that’s what we’ll talk about.
Gatekeeping in writing. One of the websites had a test along the lines (I’m not going to quote it, and I’m not going to name it. Nothing recognizable) of a ‘quiz’ that would help you determine if you are ‘right’ for writing. And some of the questions just seemed…off…is the best way to think of it. There were questions about how long you can stay in a silent room without any entertainment, questions about answering a ringing phone while writing. There were also questions about interacting with other humans rather than writing. Now, some of the questions were actually very good, like asking what you expect of writing, why you write, or questions about what your perceptions of professional writing is. The answers were on a point system, with the lowest points meaning you may not be “cut out” for writing, and the highest points meaning you will most likely find success in your career choice.
Here’s my problem with this. Perhaps for neurotypical individuals this may work well (though I question the validity of this quiz for them as well), but for neurodivergent individuals, many of these questions were scenarios that were imagined nightmares on the edge of possibility. Stick me in a silent room, and the silence screams so loud it hurts my ears. I don’t have to have entertainment, per se, but silence is torture for my ADHD. I absolutely, and with no exception, cannot write without music. Hell, I can't function without some sort of noise in my life. Of course, it needs to be familiar music so I won’t focus on the lyrics (I have playlists). It has to have words, because for some unfathomable reason songs without lyrics spike my anxiety. And if a phone rings, you better fucking bet I’m going to answer before the ringtone continues because the simple sound of my ringtone is enough to send my anxiety soaring. I don’t care what I’m doing. I could be doing surgery, I’d answer my phone. Likely why I’m not a surgeon.
As far as meeting with individuals; introvert or not, writer or not, human interaction is an important part of being human. Now, there’s nothing wrong with having a specified time where you write and only write and do not interact with the outside world during that time, but the assumption that writing always takes precedence is a dangerous one to make for our mental health. Mental health always comes first. Always. Trust me. I know. Took me a while to figure that one out, and I didn’t like the shirt I had to buy on that journey.
And just because writing is an obsession, and it can very well often be an obsession, it does not mean it will be successful. You could have scored the highest points possible on that exam, and it does not guarantee success in the publishing world. Passion and dedication does not guarantee that others will enjoy your work. Writing is far more often a hobby than it is a viable means of supporting yourself.
All this to say. There should be no gatekeeping to writing. No point system to tell you if you’re “cut out” to be a writer. Only you know, in your soul of souls. I’m tired of all these rules I read for an art that should have no rules. Writing is a passion. Something that burns inside you until you get it out. You know if you’re a writer simply by knowing this: do you write because you are called to, or do you simply write in hopes to one day be published? There is an intrinsic difference in these reasons, and you can feel it when you read the words on the pages of these authors. Souls transfer into our work.
Writers know that deep, deep down excitement of completing a story or poem, that dopamine hit from reading something they created. “I made this.” I’ll read my stuff over and over, reveling in how I often don’t even really remember writing it. It’s called “the zone” by many, that trance-like state where our characters possess our bodies and tell their stories through our fingers. We are but vessels to their whims. Nothing feels like it. It’s a tranquility that transcends any source of enlightenment. Most of the time, I go into writing not even knowing what I’m going to write about. I might have the vaguest prompt or two or three words in mind. I’m really lucky if I have a character previously created. Do you know how many “rules” that breaks?
All this to say, gatekeeping is a deplorable practice and I can’t imagine how many talented and unsure authors have been quashed before they could grow. Write to write. Write to breathe. Write to create. Don’t give any fucks about what others say about the whens, the hows, the whys. There are worlds waiting to be created at the edge of your fingertips and in the depths of the folds of your brain. Break the gates.
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