When Do I Call Myself A Writer?
“I’m a writer.”
“Oh yeah? What have you written?”
“A few short stories, I also post online. But my main goal is to finish my novel.”
“Oh, nice. Yeah, that would be cool. Always good to have hobbies.”
When Are You A Writer?
I’ve enjoyed writing for a long time now. I think it goes all the way back to high school when I would come up with story ideas for me and my friends to turn into half-assed short films. Yes, they were terrible.
Since then, the writing has grown and also gotten more specific. I write about almost anything here on Medium, I started a beer blog, and, my personal favorite, I write fiction--which ranges from novels to podcasts and short stories.
Through all the years of writing, I’ve made little to no money. I’ve never published a novel, and I’ve never received any “acclaim”. So when I tell people something like “I’m writing a novel” they probably don’t understand. They wouldn’t classify me as a writer because it's not my profession.
Like, yeah I play tennis on the weekend but I’m not a tennis player. Right?
Maybe it's just me, but I feel like there's this taboo with writing. What makes a writer a writer?
