The question seems ridiculous, doesn’t it? If you write, you’re a writer … right? Isn’t that how it works?
But the fact is, whether they admit it or not, every writer has grappled with a variation of this question, subtle or otherwise. After all, we don’t simply want to write, we want to be read. We want to be experienced. We want to be RECOGNIZED …
… as a writer.
And there’s the crux. What separates “a writer” from someone else? When can Joe say it when Bob can’t?
The basic answer is that if you write you’re a writer. If the statement isn’t presented in the context of “what do you do for a living” then that’s probably fine. You’re a writer if you write. Ta-da!.
But you know what? That’s too simplistic for me. Being a writer is, in my opinion, something that defines you. It is so integral to how people perceive you that it’s one of the first things that spring to mind when someone mentions you, regardless of whether or not you’re blessed enough to make your living doing it. By that measure, I don’t know that I qualify as a writer …and that’s okay, because I’m not always sure that I do, either.
That’s fine. It gives me something to aspire to.
What do you think? What is it that makes someone a writer? When can someone safely say, “I am a writer” and not have eye rolls push them out of the room?
The only way I would ever respond "I'm a writer" when asked what I do for a living would be if I had actually published something and made money off of it. Saying you're a writer as your occupation means it is your job. You do it for a living – in my humble opinion.
I (never having published jack-squat) always take the alternate route. "I'm a carpenter but I've been writing on the side." Or simply wait for it to come up in later conversation.
I have friends who have published a few things and also worked as writers in some capacity at one time or another. Those people (in my eyes) are in fact "writers." Sure, they might not do it at the moment, but they're writers. Someone working on their first novel for the past three years can't say the same. At least not yet.
I'm a "writer" at heart. I always have been. It's something I loved since I was six. But, in the eyes of society, I haven't earned my "writers" badge yet. But, it gives me something to strive for.
Great thoughts, Patrick. I struggle with it myself. Even as a guy who *has* been paid to write, I still feel like I haven't accomplished what I want to accomplish yet, therefore I am not a Writer.
Or, I do not make my living *solely* by writing, therefore I am not a Writer (even though 90% of my income is derived by some form of writing).
I dunno.
Either way, I understand and respect how you see it. I see it quite the same way.
It's funny, I thought of myself as *more* of a writer when I first started to pursue it seriously than I do now. Youthful arrogance, maybe. Came to understand what it entails and realized, "Nope, not there yet."
Cheers!
So, it seems one is a writer once they feel comfortable calling themselves as such.
I can respect that.