Blogger: Michelle Ule
Filling in today for the traveling Wendy Lawton
Are you a writer?
I mean, a real writer?
I find it helpful to look at definitions. Here’s how Merriam-Webster defines writer:
1. Someone whose work is to write books, poems, stories, etc.
2. Someone who has written something
Note that definition doesn’t say anything about publication. For that term, you need author.
Here’s their definition of author:
1. A person who has written something; especially a person who has written a book or who writes many books.
Well, that doesn’t say anything about publication either.
So, published or not, are you a writer or an author?
If you are reading this blog post, the chances are yes.
But you may not feel you can define yourself that way because, well, you haven’t earned any money . . . yet.
But what if money isn’t your goal, you just want to write your stories or your thoughts or your blog?
If you do all that, perhaps spending most of your days putting fingers to keyboard to produce words and sentences, are you still a writer?
Maybe only an amateur writer, but a writer?
What does amateur mean?
1. a person who does something (such as a sport or hobby) for pleasure and not as a job
That may be closer to your truth, but I want to point out something about that word amateur.
It’s a French word with a Latin base: amator lover, from amare to love.
An amateur writer is someone who writes out of love for the written word.
That describes a lot of us.
For many years I described myself as “a writer of sorts,” loving the double meaning–I sort of was a writer and I wrote about different sorts of things.
But the day I finished writing my first (as yet unpublished) novel, I had reached a milestone.
Whether I ever was published or not, I have a finished manuscript.
I wrote it myself!
Therefore, I was a writer.
“Owning” the definition
You write.
You’re a writer.
However, your grandmother writes sappy poetry and slips it into your birthday card.
Your adorable daughter carefully scribbles illustrated “cards” and hands them out.
Your dentist writes a novel in his free time.
Are they writers, too?
Yes.
Why?
Because there are plenty of signs you’re a writer, and it’s helpful to acknowledge them.
How many of these apply to you?
Signs You’re a Writer
1. You love words.
2. You love stories.
3. You love to play with words–like rhymes and puns. (Hi, Grammy!)
4. Some of your relatives refuse to play Scrabble with you.
5. You admire something and think about the words you would use to describe it.
6. People love receiving your Christmas letter.
7. Every night after dinner, your college roommate sits on her bed and asks you to tell a story about your day.
8. You watch a movie that moves you and think, “I wish I had written that.”
9. You’re distraught if you’re stuck waiting and don’t have a book to read.
10. People you love and respect believe you’re a writer.
(Note: the antithesis of #10 may not be true if you think you’re a writer and they don’t. See the nine other signs for validation.).
But what if you don’t feel like a writer?
It may be because your definition for writer is different than the dictionaries.
It may be because you think the definition is not applicable if you aren’t paid.
Someone has told you you’re not a writer.
Chances are good, though, you’re not writing.
So, get to work!
Scrabble, anyone?
Tweetables
How do you know if you’re a real writer? Click to Tweet
10 Signs you’re a writer Click to Tweet
Do you have to be published to be a writer? Click to Tweet
I love to write. Writing is my avocation. I don’t do it for money. But I’d be happy to get some money for it.
Hi Michelle, I love this! You made my day with your words! Thanks.
What an interesting post, Michelle. It took me a long time to put “writer” and “I/me” in the same sentence. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but it’s only been in the last 6 years that I’ve actually worked to make this dream a reality.
*I like your signs to look for. Most of them fit me. 🙂 And, thanks for the reminder that just because I may not feel like I am a writer on a given day, it doesn’t mean I’m NOT a writer. I can’t trust my feelings. 🙂
*Happy writing today!
When BPH was published, I called my old high-school English teacher, and told him.
* There was a long silence, and then, very softly, “Dear God.”
Thank you for this very encouraging post. And sometimes it’s more about ideas, pre-thought and being eager to sit down and type it out, or ones that come to you as your fingers plunge away. Unique ideas move me. And when a scene comes together … yes! 🙂 I long to be above ordinary … to write in such a way that touches hearts … to write a worthy read. I pray over it … for words and ideas that move me and hopefully move others. Because I love to write. Writing is truly a pouring out of the heart and soul.
“I long to be above ordinary.”
Awww, honey.
Because of Jesus, you ARE above ordinary!!
Because of your enormous heart, you ARE above ordinary!!
Because of the way you carry yourself, your dignity and your incredible inner strength, you are most certainly orbiting way out beyond the stratosphere of ordinary.
One day, when you’re speaking to thousands of woman who want and need your wisdom, you can tell them all “Not one of you is ordinary”.
But, YOU have to believe it first.
And when God has settled that truth in your heart AND you finally believe Him?
BOOM.
Aww, Jennifer. Thank you! I long for … BOOM!! 🙂
And you always make me smile. We were talking about you at lunch today with my mother!! 🙂 I told her about the rabbit ears in the vlog. So sly, almost unnoticeable. 😉
Thinking about this, I realized that I’m in the awesome position in which no one will ever ask me the tiresome question, “So, what do you do?”, again. Those who contact me online know I write, and it is unlikely that I will ever meet anyone new – the real blessings of illness and isolation!
* But that said, I was taught to deflect questions of that sort. If you don’t stand out, you’re not remembered, and being forgotten can be the key to seeing tomorrow.
* The cover has to have a lot of truth to be convincing, though…if asked what I do today, I would answer, “oh, I edit stuff…this and that, whatever comes across my desk”…in a very bored tone. It is true…I edit my own work, and sometimes that of friends, and if there are follow-on questions I can answer better than if I lied outright.
The overall goal, if anyone’s interested, is to go beyond being the greyman, to the point where if you share a long taxi ride with someone, they will remember it as having been alone.
* This is NOT to say that one maintains silence, as that is in itself memorable. One must be something of a mirror, making small-talk that simply reflects back on one’s companion, and completely obscures one’s own personality.
* It requires some precise control not only of chosen words, but of facial expressions, gesture (use some, not a lot), and, very importantly, vocal inflection. Everyone remembers, say, a Southern or New York accent, and we usually remember people who talk on a plane above or below our own. You have to beam back at the other person almost exactly what they’re sending your way.
#4 is true, only in reverse.
My brother and I have a bit of a legendary attitude when it comes to Scrabble. We laugh and joke and pass each other the snacks, but when the game starts? We will draw blood. When we managed to be in the same town for a week, in October of 2014, we chose in advance, NOT to play. At all.
Why? Because we’d be consumed with our week long Scrabble marathon and ignore his wife, and our parents. So we settled with constantly picking on each other, non-stop except for sleep, for a whole week. Oddly enough, we still drove them nuts. Because we are childish.
But if anyone else spoke to me like he does? He would draw blood.
As for being a writer? Well, when Mary Keeley offered me representation in September of 2013, one of the highest compliments regarding my chosen path came from my big brother.
So the world would know, he changed his Facebook job description to “Entourage and bodyguard for my sister the writer”.
Oh, I love his Facebook description. He loves you!! 😉
It’s nice to be validated! Ok, so I have another one.
#11. You are a writer if your family members ask you to proofread/edit their resume’s, term papers and big writing projects. (They also ask your “expert” opinion on ideas and perspectives) My kids lean on me!
Have a great day.
You’re a nicer mother than I am, Norma. All my kids got one thorough edit in high school and never asked again.
But then, they didn’t need to–they got it after one lengthy session working on a paper. 🙂
My coworkers have me proofread newsletters, emails and letters. But to be honest, they see me as an editor, not a writer.
* After I left a job, I got a call from a business associate. “I miss you,” he said. “Bill’s letters are twice as long without you.”
LOL!
Of course, that Pascal quote comes to mind: “I would have written a shorter letter, but I didn’t have enough time.”
Thank you all for proving my points; I can’t see I have much to add to all the observations made by you WRITERS!
Other than to laugh at what Andrew’s high school teacher said!
Carry on and thanks for all the retweets! 🙂
I’d like to add one more to the list.
You know you’re a writer when your husband tells people you seem incredibly lifelike when you’re working on your computer.
I go into a trance and can’t even remember what I’ve already cooked for dinner when I sit at the keyboard! You have a blessed husband!
Anything else to add to my list? 🙂
You know you’re a writer when you planned to go to bed by 1:30 a.m., but it’s already 3:30, you’re still in the zone, and you can’t bear to quit. A person really doesn’t need more than four hours of sleep, right?
Thank you for today’s encouragement: it was just what I needed to hear. And now, to find myself in my words…
What an affirming and encouraging blog post! Thank you so much, Michelle. 🙂 I needed this right now. God bless you!
This just in: does having it on someone else’s paperwork make it official?
Hubs was just on the phone with our insurance agent. I guess the guy was asking occupations…what did my very darling man say?
“She writes books. She’s a writer.”
You keep melting my heart today. Stop it!! 🙂
Similarly, I remember being surprised when, as he does every year, my husband asked me what I wanted him to write on our taxes as my profession.
“Writer?” I suggested.
“Of course you are,” he laughed, and typed it in.
***On my better days I like to think I’m a writer, but some of these 10 signs raise my doubts.
***I have no fascination with, or affinity for, words. They are simply tools for telling the story. Yes, the right word used at the right time is vital, but I can’t stand it when words get in the way of the story. To me, words should be invisible, unobtrusively seeping into the readers’ minds and illuminating pictures in their brains.
***Stories are what ignite me, what keep me up at night. A poem without a story, no matter how beautiful, is just words to me. So now I wonder, am I really a writer if words are simply a means to an end?
***I’m going to have to say, yes. Maybe I don’t hold words with the same reverence as other writers, but it’s only through words–and putting those words on paper or screen–that stories can be told.
***So, yes. Yes I am a writer. Thank you, Michelle, for pointing that out to me.
Elissa, I’ve loved and collected unusual words in my vocabulary all my life, but I’ve read numerous writers’ blogs that encourage the use of a relatively limited vocabulary of commonly used words to connect better with your readers. Maybe a love of words is actually a detriment for a writer these days. The love of a great story is quite another thing. How can someone write a novel without a passion for story? “Writer” is too general a term. It could mean you write fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Maybe a much better term to describe you is novelist.
Well said, Carol.
I wouldn’t worry about it if you’re not intrigued by words, Elissa. There were 10 items on that list. How are you at Scrabble? 🙂
Back in the dark ages when I trained as a newspaper reporter, we were told that it was more important to know a subject matter–like history or chemistry–than to take writing classes. The editors, then, at the LA Times were said to have observed, “we can teach anyone how to write, but we can’t backfill years of education.”
Similarly, if you don’t have a great story, what good does a superior vocabulary do?
I just read Helen MacDonald’s amazing H is for Hawk–pretty interesting story and shockingly unique vocabulary. (She’s a poet). The two blended together in a deep way, but some of the words were above my knowledge base–glorious though they were–and the dense paragraphs actually made it a challenge for me to read.
Certainly a unique book and the story is what kept me reading. (I can’t bear to read with a dictionary at my elbow).
For all you lovers of Scrabble, I dare you to try the Ashby version. Take 14 tiles, totally ignore point value, and try to make the longest, weirdest words you possibly can. Totally liberated from numerical competition and relaxing fun for all who play. The first few times you try it, it can be a bit hard on the rabid Scrabble player who always goes for the kill with a Z on the triple word score, but even those folks get to love it once they play it a few times.
Loves:
1. the only qualification to be a ‘writer’ is to write something.
2. ‘amateur writer’ is a good description. I also like ‘hobby writer’. ‘Professional writer’ is a term reserved for those whose back-breaking activities mean they will need to file taxes.
Hates:
1. “aspiring” writer. Sounds like someone who wants to be a writer but hasn’t actually written anything. For someone at the beginning of their career I much prefer apprentice writer.
2. “I’m a writer.” “Oh, what books have you published?” This assumption by muggles must drive the non-fic article writers and essayists nuts.