Conviction

    My friend,

   While reading a page is crossing a portal into a new universe, writing is creating it.

   It's a lonely endeavor but if it's inside of you, if the first thing that comes to your mind when you wake is to write then you're the instrument of untold characters who want to be brought to life.

   Writing is a skill that demands constant improvement. You may not write your words in blood, but you will inevitably add pieces of your very soul into each line you ink. 
   If you're a poet at heart, you're more than half way there.

Poetry is singing on the page, and few are those who can masterfully compose a melody of words full of meaning, taking the very best language has to offer, and evoking a broad spectrum of emotions.

   If you're on your way, don't settle for being a writer. A writer writes, but a novelist creates. Create an adventure, create a romance, create emotion, inspiration, whole new worlds risen out of your imagination, and let your voice stay true all the way to that last page.

   Strive to create characters your readers will think about long after closing that back cover. Touch another's heart and soul, and take them along on the climbs and falls of your stories.

   I started writing when I was a kid and I never stopped, but it took most of my life to draw the audacity and courage to package it all into a novel, and lay it at the hands of someone else.

   Suffering the critique and judgment of others, who may have never lived what inspired you to write, will leave you in tatters, but don't let one opinion, one harsh review or one stinging insult hang your head. Follow your instincts, and let your characters tell their story.
   If the naysayers and the obligations of life force you to drop your gaze, let it be upon a blank page, and keep doing what you were meant to do. Create a universe, and invite readers to walk through the portal, and lose themselves.

   

   Javier A. Robayo