Do you need to be in the NFL to play "real" football? Of course not, everyone has hobbies for different reasons, whether it be personal interest or to network with other enthusiasts. You'd be able to meet several of those realwriter™ qualifications if you appealed to the lowest common denominator, but the 99% of hobbyist writers would stop creating content if they had to adhere to those standards.
If you are a writer then you are a real writer. First and foremost enjoy writing. If others enjoy your writing then that is a bonus. It is just a question of scale after that. Then we are talking about success but that is not the same thing.
I mean...you tell me, man. Writing...and the arts in general...our a hard thing to really slap a "real" label to. I`m I a real photographer? I don`t publish in magazines, hang in the MET, or have a wedding photography business but I take photos. I`ve had them hung in small galleries, I`ve done birthday parties,I take shots for nonprofits at there events, and I`ve done stuff for the city's tourism bureau. I`ve been taking photos and studying the craft for years now. I`d consider myself a photographer, I`ve also had a friend (and this kinda stung) tell someone else with me standing right next to her that I was only a photographer in training. What does that mean? Come to think of it I took some of this girl's senior pictures, but apparently I`m not real yet. Same for writing, there`s a thousand different ways to be a writer and they are all subjective as there legitimacy. Was I a "real" writer when I was doing shitty fanfic on web forums? That`s actually how a lot of writers get started these days. Our writer`s people who write books? What about people in magazines or who publish on Meduim or Wordpress? Are they bloggers? Our bloggers not writers? Are the poet's writers? What about short story peeps whos do the lit mag circuit? No book deals but...it`s writing. Is an amateur writer a real writer? What is one not an amateur? When they write something that's liked? That's good? Who decides that? Not the artists, we're biased both for good and bad. That`s just creative writing. What about copywriters? Or content writers? People, who write those long things for medical journals and shit? This is actually something I`ve struggled with. Being a writer has always been a part of my identity. From my fanfic days through when I was winning narrative writing contests in middle school and that`s what everybody expected of me. Then there was this long period of barley writing anything other then the unfocused worthless rambles you`ll find in my junk draw blog here. I even flunked out of college, by never writing anything. I formed an entire narrative persuasive essay about how I was in a car accident as a kid and hippotherapy is the only thing that kept me from permanently needing braces or support walking than going on about how it should be a more widely accepted and covered (insurance) form of therapy. I just never wrote it. I have tons of storys like that. Fully formed in my mind...I can visit them...see the world feel it. Just never put a word down. I went through a Hank Moody phase there. I even felt bad about, hanging around here due to not being a "writer" and just dicking about the lounge. "I don`t belong here." I thought, maybe I still do a bit. Dawn`s a breaking though, Published my first Medium piece this week. That`s a big thing in my writing journey and just for me in general. I still didn`t write everything I wanted to this month. Scrapped a poem and a paper for a MOOC I`m taking. It doesn`t mean i`m not a writer. I started doing online therapy, narrative therapy actually. Focused on telling the stories of my life. Before I even mentioned about being a writer or anything of the sort my therapist was commenting about not only my stories but the way I told them, and in an effort to make a video games to life comparison gave me the skill of "speechcraft" and told me that was the side of me he wanted to pull out more. The one with strong voice and perspectives, and an amazing ability to communicate them. Now I`m the guy who won`t go down a lane at the market if there`s somebody else there. Nobody has ever praised my communication skills, but somehow in a text format, it`s different. A part of me I can`t access face to face gets unlocked. It was an interesting experience. It was quite like when I had a math teacher ask me if I had ADHD without me even going to him because he noticed it. Coming from a family enivorment that treated that diagnosis like it wasn`t real and like I should be ashamed for even getting labeled with such a thing because symptoms were my fault having someone being able to see it clarified for me that it was real. The therapist seeing the storyteller inside of me solidified for me that it was there when I`d been questioning that. I`m a writer because...that`s what's there... Whatever anyone makes of that, that`s up to them but I am what I am.
I don't consider myself a writer, really, I guess. I think sometimes it's because I can't make a living off of it -- yet. But when I'm writing, I'm a writer. And not because I'm physically writing. I don't know. It's a weird thing to find myself thinking about. I don't like it.
I've always looked at it in three different segments (for lack of a better term) like this... I think 'writer' is a more general and encompassing word for anyone who, well, writes. Whether you're a published author, professional writer, blogger, copywriter, build websites, doodle in a journal or just write for fun. If you do any of that, you're a writer! If you have a writing/content creation job, or you freelance, write for magazines, newspapers, websites, blogs, etc. and get paid for it, then that qualifies you as a 'professional writer.' If you have a book published, then of course at that point, you're a 'published author.'
In the grand scheme of things, I think it really comes down to the eye of the beholder. I've seen some of the most nonsensical drivel be hailed as masterpieces. Clearly it's just my opinion. Ha But in all seriousness, I think that all it would take be considered a real writer, is if you can create something that you put your soul into. Anyone can write a book. But for it to mean something, you have to have a passion for it.
You're a real writer when you stop asking permission, and asking permission has many, many forms that do not use the word permission. Make your choices - own their outcomes - never ask permission.
You are a real writer when you write regularly. Paint every once in a while? You're a painter. Sculpt every once in a while? You're a sculptor. Go for a run a couple times a week? You're a runner. Play video games sometimes? You're a gamer. Can you play the piano? You're a pianist. On top of that, there are other adjectives that can be attributed to the noun, but "real" doesn't mean anything. If you get paid, you're a professional. If you take commissions, you are a freelancer. If you do it for fun, you're a hobbyist. If you're new to it, you're a novice, it doesn't make you any less "real." I'm a professional, expert programmer who works on huge projects with millions of lines of code. I'm certainly a real programmer. I would also consider a high school kid trying to build his first Pong clone to be a real programmer, just not a pro.
You know, I've never heard it get put that way. But that is some fantastic philosophy. Thank you for that.
If someone were to say to me, "I'm a real football player," my next question would likely be, "Who do you play for?" If the answer is "Oh, just with my kids on the weekend," I'm not so sure that person is actually a real football player, or at least not what most people would think of if we're going to use the word real here. Perhaps, it's a bit different with writing, but probably real is an unnecessary word we should only insert privately when we are engaging in out own self doubt. Still, if you tell someone you're a writer, it's likely you will be asked who you write for or what you write. You know how you would answer these questions and what sort of impact that would have mixed with your declaration of being a writer. When we say we're something, whatever if is, it's almost implied that it's more than just a thing we like to do. That's not to say there aren't great unpublished and aspiring writer. But so many unpublished and great aspiring writers don't really end up writers. I say real writers have persistence. At the same time I am a working writer and I question all the time if I'm actually a real writer.
A writer is one who writes. How often and where you go with it is up to you. No one has the power to further define you, unless you let them.
Do you write? Then you're a real writer. Never look to others for validation of who you are, whether that's the comments of friends, the sales at a bookshop or the adoring reviews of the critics. They're nice. They're not essential, and validation must be an internal thing. I think Wrey said it better than me. He always does.
"What does you husband do?" "Oh, he's a chef. And a dentist." "Both? That is remarkable!" "Oh, yes. Why just this morning he warmed up a Hot Pocket and had the prudence to floss afterwards." "Mildred, are you feeling well?" "He yells at traffic. So, a legal analyst too. Don't begrudge me." The two women sipped their chamomile, and the conversation faded to a nervous silence. The next time Mildred invited Florence to tea, the invitation went unanswered.
I like to think I have the ability to string two words together. On the other hand, I have zero ability to pull teeth.
I am not a real writer. Not even close. Which, come to think of it, has possibilities. An ordinary guy lives in fear of the people who killed his wife, convinced he is utterly helpless against the genetically violent. Then his daughter is attacked and he finds he is the warrior he never thought he was. I could make a story out of that. I need to think a little more. But I'm not a writer. Not at all.
I don't even exist. I'm just Some Guy, a character created by my auth... Oh shit! Oops! Forget I said anything, he doesn't know I'm here! *shhh*
Wheb you go into a bookstore and look at the shelves—only a small fraction of the writers whose books you see there are making a living from it.
On that, I saw this on social media: https://writerunboxed.com/2020/02/21/the-authors-guilds-2020-report
If you believe it, then it is as real as......everything else you believe. How do you know you are real?
I've seen that as well. An author on Twitter who has written 8 or 9 novels and at least one non-fiction book, is on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, and has had work translated for foreign distribution, pointed out that he still works a day job because he doesn't make enough to live on by writing. Years ago I was talking with SF writer Mike Resnick (who, sadly, passed away recently). He had a pretty successful career and he told me if I was just looking to make money, almost anything else I could think of doing would be a better bet than writing. None of the above is relevant with respect to being a "real" writer. If you write, you're a "real" writer. Whether you're a professional writer is another question--you need people to pay you for your writing for that to apply, imo.
That's the distinction too many draw without thought. None of us on here are professional writers of fiction (I have no doubt that among our number are journalists and technical writers - they're definitely professional writers, but of non-fiction). But we are all real writers, whether we're just setting out, whether we've written 3 novels and about 40 short stories (hi) or if we're millions of words into a hobby that we love.
