Impulsive writing – a good thing

by MARCELLA SIMMONS
(Logansport LA USA)

Impulsive writing – a good thing

Writing has always come easily to me. Throughout my teen years, poetry and journal writing was my favorite hobby.

As I grew older, raising children became my hobby, but writing was never far behind. I’d lay the children down for an afternoon nap shortly after lunch, and I’d start filling page after page in my journal, writing impulsively, whatever came to mind. Looking back to that particular part of my life, it is now evident that I was paving the way to what is now my career.

However, the real lessons came later when I started submitting stories for possible publication to every magazine, newsletter or newspaper I could get my hands on. Rejection slips filled my mail box regularly – in a year’s time, I had enough rejection slips to wallpaper a 14’X14’ room! That didn’t stop my writing impulse. I kept hacking away at the old keys of my typewriter, and kept filling page after page of spiral notebooks that cost about 50 cents each at that time.

Now, there are six filing cabinets full of any kind and every kind of article or story imaginable and about four filled boxes of nothing but filled spiral notebooks. Somewhere along the line, I turned rejection slips into acceptances and now have about 650 published credits in about 350 publications nationwide.

So can you! If you are an impulsive writer like me, then it’s kudos to you. If you possess this wonderful gift, nurture it and let it grow. Never stifle it or try stopping it – take a writer’s course and chart the course for your writing ventures. If you don’t have time to attend a class, take a home study course. The idea is to shape your writing impulses into something that will eventually pay off for you. It will help you to learn to become a published writer.


Write everyday, at least an hour each day. You can become a published writer if you keep trying. Never give up, even when it seems hopeless. Let the impulsive writer in you guide you!