Marge Clauser is a writer, poet and former newspaper columnist. She is available to speak to groups. Contact her for questions, schedule and fee information.

I’m Marge Clauser and I am a writer. I have been a writer for most of my life—but I never had the nerve to say I was until several years ago.

Many will say “I want to write” or “I wish I could write.”

If asked why they don’t write, the usual answer is, “I’m not good enough.” What they mean is “I’m afraid I’m not perfect, I won’t get published or I will fail.”

It has been instilled in our collective consciousness that to be a “real writer” you have to be published.

You are a skier without being in the Olympics. You are a bicyclist without competing in the Tour de France.

To be a writer—means you write.

So—do you want to write? Do you wish you could write? Or do you desire to write?

Want. Wish. Desire.

All three words mean “to have a longing for.” The difference is the degree of longing. “Desire” stresses the strength of feeling and implies strong intention.

Dramatic Florida Sunset