An Aria of Self-Reflection:

Being a Writer vs. Being an Author

(FOR ME)

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For as long as I can remember, I've always been a writer - it's been one of the few things in my life that not only kept me emotionally grounded, but provided me with a legitimate sense of peace and purpose. It just made sense to me in a world that generally didn't. Putting words on paper came unbelievably easy, and not surprisingly it was even easier to get lost in those words. Apart from writing, reading was another easy and necessary escape (I was a bibliophile before even knowing what a bibliophile was), and it became clear to me as I got older that literature was a staple of the girl I was, and ultimately a driving force for the woman I wanted to be.

The Arts have always been my passion: from music to art, to literature, and naturally theater, I was a child born into a world that existed solely on and for creativity. Combine that with my growing passion for science, and I became a blossoming entity of and with never ending imagination. Even now after all these years, peace surrounds me as I sit back and watch the passion in a summer storm - and nothing can dull my whimsical gaze as I look into the stars, imagining that someone (or something) out there is gazing back.

But as the process began in writing my first book for publication (a faith based autobiography), I came to understand that I realized my personal definitions for being a "writer" and an "author" had changed altogether. I've always been a writer, but NOW it was completely different from being an author. For me, being a writer meant creating a world or worlds for only myself, my own joy, and my own escape. Whether it was poetry, fanfiction, or even fantasizing about being someone else, living a different life - even if it was presented before others - it was always for me; it was always expressing my deepest feelings to satisfy a personal longing and desperate need for solace in which the real world could not give me. But (again, for me), in writing my first official book, I began to see that being an author meant having a world for more than just myself - but for all of my readers. It meant creating a place where everyone could find themselves, be themselves, and dive deeper to discover something beyond whatever realities may be before them outside of the pages.

My writing started out as a means of escape from the harsh realities that I was facing as a kid. That desire to escape eventually turned into a need to share what I birthed with others. Part of me wanted to expose others to the words I placed on paper in an attempt to help them understand me better. Another part of me wanted to do it so people could see the pain and hurt that they had made a dangerously inevitable part of me. But most of all, I wanted to do it to guide others out of their own pain - even if for a moment; to show them that there can be joy in the darkness, and that they are truly capable of more than others or even they themselves could ever fathom. As I got further along in my autobiography, completed it, and then began charting out my next project (a fiction piece), I came to a simple conclusion:

Being able to create new life is a beautiful thing...

...but sharing it is an ever greater treasure.

So, ask yourself: What does being a writer or author (or a creator in general) mean to you? Feel free to discuss in the comments below.

Until next time, Sugahs.

Shekinah Nightingale

P.S. To learn more about my realizations of becoming an author, feel free to pick up my autobiography
"The Unwritten Pages" by Shekinah R. Smith, available only on Amazon. Also, I will be trying to make longer posts, but I think short ones are okay too as long as I get the point across.