writing

How do you know you're a writer?

This question lingers in every single person's mind if they're on a writing career path. There are many famous writers today that strongly believe if you're not writing every single day or if you don't write every minute you have free, then you're not a writer. Should this advice or this way of thinking be what people look at to decide if they're writers? There's no one who can truly decide this for you, but this advice can be very discouraging. Also, possibly tie in the growing industry of self publishing (with the intense competition of writing and publishing). Is it working? Is it worth it? Or do we stick to agents who have connections?

I think defining oneself as a writer is dependent on two things: self perception and publication. Some people don't consider others writers unless they are published or making money from their writing in some way, it's not a career otherwise. If that criteria isn't being met it's all about your own perception, do you feel like a writer? In the eyes of a famous writer you might not be seen as such, but if you're asked by someone who does not know what defines one "oh, are you a writer?" do you say yes or no? It's an intuition thing though it can be a wide grey area. I feel this way with art as well, but that's much simpler because everyone writes at some point in their day but only "artists" tend to doodle regularly. – Slaidey 10 years ago
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Definitely a lingering question for anyone committed to writing. You pose some good questions, but I feel this can turn into two separate articles. The advice writers give to other writers varies, and an article analyzing a few select quotes would be interesting. What about focusing on a few quotes from some of your favorite writers? As for the world of publishing, an article detailing what a good query letter looks like and how the nuances of publishing contracts are trickier than most think would be compelling. There's so much legwork to get through after the writing itself is completed. – RobertCutrera 10 years ago
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These are questions that I have posed. Some advice that I've received from publishers is to write when you feel very passionate. You can write everyday, but sometimes you're writing about "nothing," granted that nothing could one day become something. I would say that writing comes from within, if you're passionate about it and love literature, you love telling narratives, all of that is what constitutes a good writer. – jeffbis11 10 years ago
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I've been asking myself this question recently, since I haven't been writing in a while and get writers block easily. And on a website like this, I think that this topic can be reassuring for a lot of people. – Samantha Brandbergh 10 years ago
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The noun implies a verb, if you don't do the verb you shouldn't use the noun. – ChrisKeene 10 years ago
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I like to think I am a writer, but my inspiration strikes me very erratically. There is no pattern and it certainly does not happen every day! – Natasha 10 years ago
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One of the hardest assignments I've had as Creative Writing major is to tell people that I'm a writer when they ask what I do. It's easy for me to forget that this is what I am, that I'm not just a teacher or a student, I'm a writer. As a writer, I think it's important to write everyday regardless of content or outlet. There's poetry out there in the form of text messages, and of course the six word memoir. I think it's the writer who has to take ownership of their craft and their passion and be willing to say, regardless of the response, that "I am a writer." – Spayne19 10 years ago
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I strongly believe that we are all writers--we all have stories. We convey them through different mediums, either unwritten or documented. Now, if a person wants to make a career out of writing, then (s)he needs to understand that it takes commitment of at least 40 hours per week. I know it's hard, especially when one needs to be in the creative mode, but here's the thing: if you love it, its not work. Its life :) – sbermudez 10 years ago
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You will know that you are a writer when your brain will be pressed by enormous quality of strange ideas when your hand reach out to pen or keyboard. – LauraJonson 10 years ago
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