so you want to be a writer? by Kaitlyn Campbell

so you want to be a writer?

812campbellk — 2016-12-14 16:50:28 UTC

if it doesn’t come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don’t do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it for money or
fame,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don’t do it.
if it’s hard work just thinking about doing it,
don’t do it.
if you’re trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.


if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.

if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you’re not ready.

don’t be like so many writers,
don’t be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don’t be dull and boring and
pretentious, don’t be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don’t add to that.
don’t do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don’t do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don’t do it.

when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

and there never was.

Before You Begin to Read,

812campbellk — 2016-12-14 16:51:43 UTC

Based on the title alone, I had believed that the poem would be aggressive and the basic message of, "you can do it but you can't do it as well as me," with a condescending attitude.

Paraphrase the Poem,

812campbellk — 2016-12-14 16:57:21 UTC

If it's not meant to happen,
it won't. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. If you don't care now, you never truly will.

Connotation in the Poem,

812campbellk — 2016-12-14 17:03:19 UTC

In this poem there are Similes, Metaphors,
and some examples of Personification.✦
- "Comes out of your soul, like a rocket."
- "The sun inside you is burning your gut."
- "The libraries have yawned themselves to sleep."

What's the Theme of This Poem?

812campbellk — 2016-12-14 17:12:24 UTC

For this poem, the theme is motivation & strategy. The message is to get out there & never stop doing it. If it's right, it'll happen. Once it does, never stop ✦

Shift in the Poem

812campbellk — 2016-12-14 17:15:50 UTC

Personally, I believe that this poem shifts from an "you know you can't do this, don't even try," attitude to an "you can do this, you know you can, just do it right or not at all," attitude. But, it's still aggressive. Basically, it shifts from snobby to encouraging. ✦