"You know you're a writer when..."

When you write down what you eavesdrop so you can later use it.

 

"You know you're a writer when..."

...you decide to be one and start writing!

 

When in a conversation you've actually said "... she said" out loud after you finished your sentence.

 

LOL. I don't actually say it out loud, by in my head I often add a dialogue tag and some narration to describe what they're doing as they speak.

You know you're a writer when:

You find yourself in a difficult situation and you ask: How would my master swordsman handle this?

when something out of the ordinary happens and your friends and/or family say: "you should write a story about this."

 

...when you find an old briefcase you thought you'd thrown out ages ago, look inside and find thick sheafs of handwritten pages, all totally illegible because you wrote them all on the bus.

 

Moreover, you know you're a writer when you stuff reams of paper in a briefcase because you think they're junk.

 

As always you've it the nail right on the head.

A writer writes.

 

... when you look forward to long commutes because they're your only genuinely uninterrupted writing time.

 

You know you're a writer when you have to, HAVE TO, drop everything you're doing -- brushing your teeth, walking to the grocery store, sleeping, WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING -- to write the idea that just popped into your head.

(Usually done at manic speeds with the first writing utensil you can hunt down. I've written a story idea in eyeliner before.)

 

Very True

...when you feel proud of your ability to keep thousands upon thousands of scrap papers with your scribblings in a detailed chronological order.

 

When you stare at a blank sheet of paper for an hour, utterly motionless, then write half a sentence on it, stare again, cross out your half sentence, stare some more, write another half sentence, stare, finish the sentence, notice that it's bedtime, and call it a good evening's work.

 

When Steven King sends you hate spam cuz' he's jel.

 

And no one can spam like King!

 

You know you're a writer when people say, "Oh, so you quit your real job?"

 

You know your a writer when you have a trip coming up, half way across the country with promises of one good time after another, and the only thing you can think of is, "will I have enough spare time to write?"

 

You know you're a writer when you insist on writing even though it is a constant struggle to get the words out and the end result is often disappointing and ugly, like this sentence.

 

When you can no longer read a great work of literature without crying "why can't I write like this!"

 

When you can't read a novel without pausing to think how you'd rewrite that scene.

 

I actually did that three times this year, but all three times, I didn't think about the possible good times, I just thought - Great! Uninterrupted writing time!

 

You know you're a writer when your characters play out scenes in your head while you're sleeping.

So true

 

When you finish watching Inception, and your first comment is "nice world building."

 

When musics bring out scenes from your stories. I found an energetic music called "Me, Myself, and I" by Janet Joplin and every time I hear it, I imagine my characters in action scenes.

 

When your AP Language teacher "requires" you to annotate your books and you're the only one in class jumping up and down in their seat.

 

...when you keep judging the actors and actresses you see in films by how good they'd be for the lead when your novel is made into a movie.

 

When you carry a notebook with you EVERYWHERE and while waiting in line, you write something in it, oblivious to the person staring at you or the cashier waiting for you to put your groceries on the conveyor.