Passion.

I once had an established journalist tell me this:

"I just do my work. I don't do it like: 'I don't feel like writing… or, I feel like it.' It's crap. Thats kids stuff."

That statement resounded within me. It took me back to all of the times when I felt blocked, when my flow would come out in clumps and pieces instead of a coherent stream. I thought to myself… in those moments, I just didn't feel it. Does that mean I don't have this in me?

"It's a skill, a profession, a craft. As a freelance writer, you just can't afford to have writers block."

A skill. No doubt I've got a little more then the average citizen, but is that enough? Not at all.

"If you don't feel a passion for it, it's just gonna be words on a page."

Passion. Passion isn't just the key, its the ring that holds all of the keys.

But what is it that I'm passionate about, is the question. Finding a niche is going to be one of those keys in the set that determines whether I can turn my writing into something profitable. And it has to be something that other people will give a shit about, too. I can't keep writing dumbass, descriptive prose about my emotional exploits, thats for damn sure.

Do you look for certain causes, subjects, emotional cues? Or do you not look at all, because it will just find you?

All questions that are awaiting to be answered, because there is a comforting end to that first statement:

"...Thats kid stuff."

Cause after all, I guess I am just a kid still.

And while I'd like to end on that note, I feel the need to share this quotation by the wonderful Mr. Paul Wilkes:

"Your writing evolves probably like your philosophy of life. It gets simpler and simpler if you allow it to. You don't try to be fancy, you don't try to knock the socks off of everyone with this one."