A Writer’s Path: Part Three

Now some may have had red flags go up at my last statement of, “writing gives you influence over others”. That has a rather sith-like ring to it does it not? Well, surely if the influence that you exude over someone is for your own gain and would slight others. Are you a snake oil salesman? Or worse, are you writing Mein Kampf. Think at how Hitler’s own book may have been an ill influence to others, even himself. Did he self-proliferate his own plans by writing that book? Who knows, but it’s more than likely.

However, consider the opposite. Let’s say that Hitler was pulled into some uplifting literature while in prison. What if he became so involved with the ideology presented by this writer’s uplifting work that the text influenced him just enough so that his disposition and outlook of the world wasn’t so dark? Could all that had happened during World War II been avoided, or at least lessened because of one person’s book?

That’s the kind of influence I want. To help people rise above where they are. R. A. Salvatore is an author that has touched my life through one of his characters, Drizzt. That character shaped me as I was growing up. Reading about Drizzt caused me to consider, and choose a better path when faced with moral dilemmas during my youth. R. A. Salvatore is a hero in my eyes because he, through Drizzt, helped me become who I am today, and I like who I am.

That’s what I realized after that first story that I started when I was 17. I could become like Salvatore. I could make a difference in this world—touch people’s lives without even knowing it. I wanted that because I feel good when I help another human being rise up and become a more holistic, morally-aware person.

 So yeah, the road of a writer is long and dreary. And although a great deal of your path in the beginning will be overcast and seem hopeless, if you stick with it and constantly work on improving your craft, you may become someone’s hero and make a difference in their life.