I’m a writer and game designer. I haven’t published anything and gotten paid for it. Even so, I am a writer and game designer. No matter my day job, no matter how I live or how I make my money, I’m a writer and game designer. I just haven’t gotten published yet.
In my opinion, if you write and finish what you’re writing, and edit what you finish, then you’re a writer. You’re working on mastering your craft.
A job has a title, a craft has a name. There’s a difference. If you lose your job you lose your title. You don’t lose your name until you chose to give up your craft. You. Chose. Key words, those.
At this point I have to admit that I wasn’t as courageous about this for a long, long time. I thought that being a writer was what you got when you held your first published book in your hand. Then I found a marvelous anectode, attributed to various writers:
When asked what it takes to be a writer the writer pulled out a papper and a pencil and mimiced writing on it.
That’s it. If you write you are a writer.
The hard part was believing in it, especially in the face of people who didn’t. But ask yourself this: all those famous writers, from King to Kafka, who weren’t published yet – were they writers? Some of them wrote thier masterpieces before getting anything published (recommend anyone who’s in doubt to google Kafka). Or Harper Lee, is she a writer? She only ever published “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Isn’t that a bit little to call yourself a writer? The book is rather slim, too…
So burst those bonds. You are a writer if you write. Everything else is secondary and may (or may not) come in time. Present yourself as a writer, to you, to your familly and friends, to strangers. Train yourself to be proud of it and before you know it others will accept that yes, you are a writer. The important person to accept it is you, though.
Tip: Read and follow Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”[amazon template=f_textamazon&asin=1585421464]
