I think some of us are professional writers of fiction. I know there are a lot of aspiring writers on here, but there are also some that seem to know there stuff and have published books or sold stories to magazines and such. I can say I'm a professional writer, but the word "real" still throws me off. I think you need to have a lot of confidence or be slightly delusional to think of yourself as a real writer without questioning it pretty regularly. That's my take on it. I'm more confident calling myself a professional writer than a real writer, which does seem a little strange now that I'm typing this out. IDK. There are a lot of highs and lows in this industry. It's hard not to have somewhat shaky confidence even at a professional level. Thus, the word real and the vague expectations of the word can be hard to live up to.
This discussion reminds me of an experience of Diana Kramer-Rolls, a friend of mine in the Society for Creative Anachronism. She is one of the few female fighters in the SCA who had demonstrated her skill at the martial arts at a level to be granted a knighthood in the Society (and one of the very few to have won a coronet tourney and reigned as "Princess by Right of Arms"). She and some of her SCA buddies were participating in an SCA demonstration for the public, and she was introduced by her Society name of "Sir Maythen." At the demo, a Boy Scout, in uniform, approached her and said, "Are you a real Knight?" "I am a real Knight," she answered. "Are you a real Boy Scout?" (The idea, if you haven't guessed it, is that reality is not about wearing the armor or the uniform. It's what it means to embrace the ideals of the title.)
No worries. There isn't always that much difference between being a professional and being an aspiring writer.
What I'm beginning to realize is certain words have a hidden power. That's a great realization for a writer.
I would say I’m a real bad writer, but saying “real bad writer” shows innate talent for avoiding adverbs. The sophisticated editor will note I avoided the use of “really” without really thinking about it. That’s potential.
I can never avoid using the word actually, actually. I'm sure it belongs somewhere in the English language, I'm just not sure I actually know where that is.
I was studying Biology in college but due to a few missteps, ended up not doing so well. My English professor, while doing a scheduled review of my work in class, asked if I had ever given the writing program consideration. I had not, in fact. He said I had quite a bit of potential. It was probably one of the most encouraging things I had ever been told at that point, so after a week of deliberating, I switched majors. That being said, I have never claimed to be a writer. I write, yes. I just don't finish a lot of my thoughts, like the ADHD coffee fiend that I am.
So you have to finish all your thoughts before you can claim to be a writer? If that were the case, there wouldn't be a writer on the planet. I'm bemused by the notion that one has to earn money at something to claim credit for being legitimately practicing it. Is a singer a singer if she doesn't sing for pay? Is a hiker only a hiker if somebody's paying for the hike? I've known hundreds of people I could call "hang glider pilots." Only a small fraction of them ever received a dime for practicing the sport. (I'm one of them, in the sense that I've test-flown gliders for money, but I've never entered a competition for prize money or been paid for a flying performance.) It's assumed that if you identify yourself as a "football player," you're affiliated with some professional organization, because there really aren't many venues of playing outside of the NFL once you've gone through the college leagues. (And are college players able to describe themselves as "football players" if they're not being paid to play?) If you like to write, and you want to improve your writing skills, and you bring something into the world that wasn't there before so other people can appreciate it, then you're a writer in my book. So write already.
I am quoting myself, but only to introduce a second thought. The analogy to football players may not be entirely accurate, because there's a selection process involved regardless of whether there's cash involved; you have to be chosen to be on a team. So there's somebody else determining whether you're going to be a football player or not; you cant just walk in and say "I'm on the team." I suppose the same is true for actors, who usually have to be cast in a role, regardless of whether they're amateurs or professionals. But I wouldn't consider writing to be in the same category, since the above-mentioned activities really can't be done without some sort of team or audience, whereas writing can.
