Life is difficult in our world right now.
We’re dealing with a global pandemic. Businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Parents are juggling work with homeschooling. And many of us are stuck at home more than we’d like to be.
Amidst it all, we have the opportunity to write. The question is, are you taking advantage of it?
When You Don’t Feel Like Writing, Remember Anne Frank
It’s amazing how many times as a writer, I don’t feel like writing. I’m tired or my brain is dead or I’d rather do something fun and less challenging.
What sends me to the chair at these times is the realization that at that moment, I have the opportunity to write. And that opportunity shouldn’t be taken lightly.
I was reminded of this while working on a project the other night. I was doing some research and came across a quote by Anne Frank, the young German-Dutch girl who kept a diary while hiding from the Germans in World War II.
Perhaps one of the most famous writers in the world today, young Anne had aspirations to be a professional writer—a journalist, specifically. She wondered if she was talented enough to write books that people would read.
“I finally realized that I must do my schoolwork to keep from being ignorant,” she wrote in her famous diary, “to get on in life, to become a journalist, because that’s what I want! I know I can write …, but it remains to be seen whether I really have talent …”
Like most of us, I learned about Anne Frank’s story in school, but it’s been a long time since I’ve thought of her. Back then, I didn’t know I was going to be a writer and I didn’t remember reading that Anne wanted to be one, either.
Now, all these years later, while revisiting some of the passages she wrote, I was struck by how similar Anne was to all aspiring and even published writers today. She wasn’t just a girl stuck in a bad situation who turned to her diary out of desperation. She was a writer who wrote because she was compelled to do so.
It was like I was getting to know her all over again, realizing how similar her hopes and dreams were to my own. Yet unlike all of us, Anne was tragically robbed of her opportunity to build a writing career.
Anne Frank Was a Writer at Heart
This strikes me as profoundly sad and makes my own occasional resistance toward the task of writing seem childish and indulgent.
Who am I to complain about being tired or mentally spent when I am fortunate enough to have the time and space to write?
“And if I don’t have the talent to write books or newspaper articles, I can always write for myself,” Anne wrote. “But I want to achieve more than that. I can’t imagine living like Mother, Mrs. van Daan and all the women who go about their work and are then forgotten. I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! …”
Like all of us, Anne wanted to see where her talent would take her, but she wouldn’t get the chance. She wouldn’t have the luxury of saying she was too tired or uninspired to write. She would have only the small rooms she and her family occupied for two years and the diary she’d received as a birthday present. But it was that diary that set her thoughts and feelings free.
“When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived!”
Most of us writers feel the same way. We just need to be reminded of what writing is for us, how it satisfies the desire to create in a way nothing else can. After a long day at work or a complex afternoon with the kids, it’s easy to think only about the chore aspect of writing, which can encourage us to turn to television or social media feeds instead of the laptop.
But if we pause and remind ourselves that unlike Anne, we have the opportunity in that moment to write, to reconnect to the joy we feel when writing, we can change our behavior.
We are not denied the freedom to become the best writers we can be. On the contrary, we have every chance to do so, but we must see clearly the gifts that are in front of us—the gift of space (a home office or café), of pen and paper (or laptop), and of time, even short bursts of it. Most importantly, the gift of freedom to pursue our dreams.
In a way, we can honor Anne’s memory by taking advantage of the opportunities we have.
Writers Today Are Lucky People
Like Anne, we may wonder if we have what it takes to become the writers we want to be. “But, and that’s a big question, will I ever be able to write something great….?”
Anne never got the chance to see how well her writing was received. You and I have that chance if we only set ourselves to the task.
Anne continued to write until her arrest in 1944. We can continue to write until our dying day.
How lucky are we?
“I’m so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that’s inside me!” Anne wrote.
Every life is short. Don’t waste your valuable time. Write as if the uniformed police are soon to arrive at your door. You have the opportunity now. Don’t waste it.
Source
Marcuse, H. (2002, August 7). Lessons from the diary of Anne Frank. Homepage of Harold Marcuse, Professor of History at UC Santa Barbara. https://marcuse.faculty.history.ucsb.edu/present/13MarcuseAnneFrank.htm
I am writing now. Anne Frank, with her observing, and curious self is the canary in the coal mine of any challenges/opportunities we face as writers.
Our isolation is an opportunity to seize the chance to continue and not to ever give up.
Well said, Sandy. :O)
I too have been inspired by Anne Frank and to know that she was denied the opportunity to become a famous writer is a loss to this world. Yet, her diary became the beacon to many when published. I want to be more aware of the time I can use to write my poems and possibly a memoir that will live on after I leave this earth. Thanks for the great inspiring article.
So true, Kathy. It makes me sad that she never lived to see how inspiring her words became. But it’s a good reminder to all of us writers that you never know when your words may help someone else. Good luck with your poems and memoir! :O)
A most interesting tidbit about Anne Frank that I did not know! Thank you for sharing!
I thought so too, Jan. Thanks! :O)
Thanks for the encouragement. A writer has to read, write, write to become extraordinary.
One thing I have taken away with me is : writing as if the gestapo are arriving at my door any time. It creates a sense of urgency as well as inviting me to make the most of what I have chosen to write about.
I should not squander any opportunity available to me.
You have fuelled the fire in me. Thank you.
Jane Nannono
Nice to hear from you Jane. :O) Revisiting Anne’s story inspired me as well. Who knows what the future will hold? We have the chance to do our life’s work now. I’ll look forward to hearing about your project when you finish it.