My consciousness altered, then I was a writer

I remember not being a writer. It was thirteen years ago. Oh, I have written journals since age twelve with only two years missing, so really I was a writer. I just didn’t call myself one. But when I switched to fiction and after several years and maybe two of the four novels I’ve completed, I started to call myself “a writer.” I even got calling cards saying “writer, fiction, non-fiction.” I think the day I felt at ease saying I was a ‘writer,’ especially with myself, was the day I realized I had to simplify my enormously complicated existence in order to get it all written. It was a long process, getting the writing to the top of my endless ‘To Do’ list. But when my consciousness altered, then I knew I was a writer.