There are some people who seem to be born knowing exactly who and what they are, while others spend a whole lifetime trying to find out. I belong to the second category I'm afraid. I can't say that I am absolutely certain that I'm a writer. Honestly, if someone else told me they wrote as little as I do, and called themselves writers, I would laugh. I barely write at all, and I only come up with occasional story ideas that never turn into anything. Once a year, during NaNoWriMo, I burst into writing and hopefully this year during NaNoEdMo I will burst into editing, but that's pretty much it. So... Am I a writer?
I heard the other day when you are passionate about something it is the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning and you can't wait to get started. If those are the standards I'm judged by I'm not remotely a writer. I wake up thinking about all the schoolwork I have to do, or other daily occurrences I have to remember. In fact, it is what keeps me awake at night. I might think of a story before going to sleep, but that's mostly to fall asleep faster.
I have discussed many times the attitude one is supposed to have towards one's job. Some people say that most important is to like your job and want to go to work in the morning. You should do something that you love. But how easy is that to find? I don't always like writing. It is that I want to do for a living (good luck to me, right?) yet sometimes I couldn't think of anything worse that to sit down and write. Even squeezing out one word is painful; let alone a reasonably decent sentence. I ask myself why on Earth I want to be a writer. All I can say is that I do. I just do. Against my own inclination and all better judgement, I want to be a writer. I am a writer. I just haven't written anything worthwhile yet. Does that make sense? Didn't think so. Well, I'm not too worried about that. The conclusion of all this is that you are a writer if you decide that you are one. It isn't more complicated than that.
I'm a writer. Are you?
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