You don’t become a writer ‘some day’. You don’t become a writer when someone agrees to publish your work.
You become a writer when you show up.
Nice sentiment, huh? But how do you tame the brain gremlins into letting you show up?
You create a strong identity as a writer.
Create Your Writer’s Manifesto
A manifesto is more than an identity: it’s a statement of your values, your place in the world, and the actions you will take to support that place and those values.
- Start by listing your literary (and other artistic) heroes–I call them your Fairy Art Parents
- Make a list of what it is about them/their work that you admire
- Circle/highlight the features they have in common (you may be surprised)
- The things you admire likely align with your own values and represent artistic experiences that you would like to create for others.
- Write your manifesto, beginning with “In my writing I will be…”
Want me to lead you through the process?
Access the on-demand workshop now
Discussion
Who were your fairy art parents? What ended up in your manifesto? Share if you dare…If not, just tell us: how was the exercise?
My fairy art parents were: Jim Butcher, Cassandra Clare, Leigh Bardugo, Brandon Sanderson, and Holly Black. Here is my manifesto:
In my writing, I will be…
Honest about people, not the polished version, but the real one. Messy, driven, loyal, afraid, and trying anyway.
I will write characters who don’t fit neatly into “good” or “bad,” but who keep choosing to show up for the people they love.
I will build worlds where power isn’t easy or free, where it costs something, changes you, and leaves a mark.
I will value sharp minds and sharp tongues, letting my characters think, adapt, and fight their way through problems instead of just surviving them.
I won’t shy away from dark things, but I’m not here to write hopeless stories.
I will write loyalty like it matters, found family that feels chosen, love that’s a little dangerous, a little stubborn, and worth it.
And at the end of it all, I will leave room for hope, not the easy kind, but the kind you have to fight to keep.
Wonderful! Well done. I hope it steers you well.
Some of my teachers are on my “fairy art” parents list. I’m not sure if I put them on my original writer’s manifesto, but it’s true, and I’ll add them. Five of them, over time from elementary through university, showed enthusiasm for their subjects (literature and composition) and my contributions. Thank you, teachers!!!