Just to spark up some thoughts: when you truly understand the fundamentals of grammar, punctuation, and spelling (such as, what are adverbs, etc....where is the best place to put a comma....and spelling certain words) even something so much as knowing first, second and third person and tenses, can you truly call yourself a writer?
No, knowing the rules of grammar doesn't automatically make you a writer. That just means you can construct grammatically correct sentences. But that doesn't mean you are skilled in other aspects of writing such as flow, pacing, etc.
I failed English lol, I will never know all of that stuff by heart. I think if that were the case and that was what made a writer I would have never tried. I agree with thirdwind, flow is more important. I would rather have a flowing not so perfect story instead of a perfectly structured story that is hard to read. I would love to find the perfect balance of the two though, would make my writing so much easier. Thats just my opinion though
I've always thought of a writer as someone who feels the urge, for whatever reason, to write. He does not have to be successful or very good, so long as he continues to write he is a writer. It's a job in the traditional sense, but in fairness it goes beyond that. It's a part of you, whether you like it or not. Mind you, I have terrible grammar.
Mastering SPaG does not make you a writer, but it is a prerequisite. Competency is a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one, for success in writing.
It's part of the game, but there's so much more which you won't get to grips with without comprehensive 'active' reading and writing.
i have to agree with all of the various 'no's above... and btw, it's 'phil-o-sophical' with an 'o' not an 'i'... ;-)
What all that'll do is enable you to grammatically call yourself a writer (or anything else that you like). I'm sure you understand there's more to "writing" than whether it's grammatically intact.
You can still call yourself a writer, you'll just be missing something. Kind of like like a soccer player without shin-pads. But actually, kind of not...
A writer writes and an editor edits. I'm not sure if it could be said that a 'grammarian grammars' though... and if it ain't catchy, take it away!
A liar lies. So technically, anyone can call him/herself a writer. If you're not a writer, you'd simply be lying by doing so. But, as usual, Cognito got to the heart of the message and gave a correct answer. One cannot be a successful writer without mastering the art, which includes but is not limited to grammar. Not all writers have yet mastered the art, however. Those who write but have not yet mastered the art are called "beginning writers," and, like bicyclists with training wheels, they eventually take off the training wheels (learn the art) or give up (stop being writers.) In between taking off the training wheels and mastering the art, they fall down a lot.
Eh, I just say that if what you write makes sense and falls within acceptable limits then it's okay. There are more than five ways to skin a cat. How you write each sentence is up to you. Some people use commas excessively. Some people don't. One good rule of thumb, though, is to make each sentence as simple as possible. That makes the "PaG" part much easier. I guess technically I should have said, "Making sentences as simple as possible makes the "PaG" part much easier." Got to have proper subjects. But then again, if one sentence flows into the next, does it need to be perfect?
Sometimes I wish life was more like Final Fantasy or Elder Scrolls - you have a menu which tells you what your skill level is: Seta's Statistics: Running: 6 Climbing: 6 Basketball: -1 Baseball: 2 Writing: 4