Are You Actually A Writer?

It sounds peculiar but that is a question that often amuses me when I say that I write fiction. People often start quizzing me about it and trying to weigh up whether I do it for a hobby or as a job.

Whether writing leads to getting paid or not is neither here nor there in my opinion. A writer is someone that loves putting pen to paper. Having said that, often a pen is replaced by an iPad or a keyboard, but you know what I mean. A writer is someone who needs to express themselves in text.

Do you consider yourself a writer?

Perhaps answering these simple questions will help you to clarify this matter. I have given my own responses for fun and I hope you will drop your thoughts in the comments below too.

1) How often do you feel the urge to note something down?

When I am out and about I often hear conversations that interest me. I am a nosy writer and quickly scrabble to find something to note down what I have overheard. This is usually just a morsel of information which I feel will fit well into something that I might eventually write.

Of course, I don’t always have a notepad to hand so I usually text myself the phrase or sentence that springs to mind. Sometimes I overhear a new word that I find intriguing and scribble that word onto my hand so that I can research it later.

2) When you write prose, do you feel as though you are part of that story?

Yes. I totally get absorbed into the world that I am describing and find myself worrying about my characters long after I have closed my laptop and finished my writing for the day.

3) After reading a book, do you ever feel like writing the screenplay of it?

This is a weird one but if I really adore a book, I usually imagine turning it into a movie or TV series. I cast it in my head and consider how it would translate into a brilliant script (which only I would be able to write, of course).

4) Do you sideline jobs in order to write?

There are times during the writing process that I want to completely forget about my writing altogether. However, there are also plenty of occasions when my writing draws me in so much that I abandon tasks that I would otherwise have completed. These range from cleaning to shopping and include meeting up with friends.

In the middle of writing a book, you might find yourself making all kinds of sacrifices and may even get sucked into working through the night. It happens to me regularly.

5) Does your writing bring you pleasure?

For me, my writing is very important to me and so I make time for it every week. I get lots of pleasure from writing stories and creating blog posts. If it wasn’t satisfying then I definitely would not keep doing it.

If you write because you love putting words together into paragraphs and enjoy using your imagination, then YOU are certainly a proper writer. Whether you publish your work or not, you’re a writer because you magically connect words in a way which generates pleasure.

If you enjoyed this post perhaps consider following my blog or dropping a comment below. Here is a previous article that I wrote about reading:https://jamieadstories.blog/2021/06/09/are-you-getting-the-most-out-of-reading/