It's not my place to say whether or not you should write. What's right for one is wrong for another. Some writers have a gift that never gets past the pages of a journal. Others couldn't write their way out of a paper bag, but they send off stories or songs to every agent in the book.

But two things I know for sure:  everyone has a story; and if it's right for you, you'll write.

Here's how I know it's right:

When someone asks you what you do, what do you tell them?
     "I'm a doctor."
     "I'm a mom."
     "I work at Wal-Mart."
     "I design and maintain web pages."

When someone asks me what I do, I tell them, "I'm a writer." The next question is almost always, "What do you write?"

The answer?  Everything. I write poems, short stories, novels, songs, letters, cards, advertisements. I think about writing, I talk about writing, I dream about writing. I'm a writer.

I get ideas for writing from television shows and commercials, novels, newspapers, magazine articles and advertisements, conversations I have and overhear. I hang out with friends and their children. I sit at a table in Starbucks with headphones on, listening to those around me.

My writing hasn't been published much, I don't receive a check every month from a publisher, I can't walk into the local bookstore and see my face on the back of a bestseller. But I'm a writer. I write. Is that wrong?

For me it's life. It's as much a part of me as having ten fingers, and breathing in and out. It's an addiction. It's a way of life. It's a God-given talent, and I give it back to Him.

There are several advantages to being a writer:

Somewhere in the world at least one other person has experienced the same thing you've just experienced, and you're both feeling like you're alone; you can let them know you're wrong.

When the credits roll and you leave the theater thinking, "That can't be the end," you can go home and write the rest of the story, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction.

It's a very transferrable skill if you find yourself otherwise unemployed.

You can say whatever you want to say, whenever you want to say it.

Getting thoughts and ideas out of your head and onto paper will free up space for all sorts of other information - shopping lists, your nephew's birthday, the name of that great new book your best friend just finished, the phone number of that hot cashier at Wal-Mart.

You can preserve your family's legacy for generations with stories, traditions, recipes, advice.

Those voices in your head just might go away, proving you're not really crazy, you're simply a vessel through which a story is transported. And the closer you get to your muse, the more distinct those voices become, and you're never lonely again!

Everyone has a story, waiting to be told; you can tell it.