What does it mean to be a writer? Some have told me that"if you write, then you are a writer." Hmm. Maybe. But writing and saying you are a writer to me are two different things. I dance in my living room but that doesn't make me a dancer. I sing in the shower, but that doesn't make me a singer. I write in my office but that alone doesn't make me a writer. To be a writer implies that my career, my life's work, my occupation is writing. It is not about writing a short story over the weekend, that no one but myself will ever see. To be a writer, for me, is to live and breath writing. To make a living and a profession out of writing. To inspire, advise and mentor those who aspire to do the same.
That is what this blog is all about. Someone commented that there is no such thing as a wanna-be writer, because you either are or you aren't. I disagree. This is about wanting to be something more. This blog is about my journey to a life that revolves around writing, that is writing. I am getting closer to it. My life revolves around writing, just not entirely the type of writing I want it to revolve around. I write grants. It is a very technical, and very persuasive type of writing. Then I come home from work and I write short stories. And when I am really motivated I write novels. But most of my writing never makes it outside of my bedroom/office. I am a perfectionist, and a lover of words, and that makes it very difficult to feel comfortable enough with a piece of writing to let others see it. I am getting better at it but it can still be an issue at tiems. So yes I write. I write all the time. I write more now than I ever have, and in that sense perhaps I really am progressing towards my dream of becoming a writer. But writing doesn't make a writer. Can someone be a politician without ever winning an election? Can someone be a writer without being published?
I'm not saying that you cannot call yourself a writer if you don't have a NY Times bestseller, or a PhD in Creative Writing. You can be published in a webzine, or a literary journal, or a harlequin romance (:)) but for me to be a writer you must share your writing with the world. That is something that I have not fully embarked on. And I suppose that is what I am trying to do. It is where I am trying to go. I write because I have these ideas, characters, and worlds in my head. Interesting stories that I want to share with others because I think they will find them fascinating as well. I suppse I write because I never really wanted to stop playing pretend. I never wanted to leave the imaginary world behind.
I hope that before the year is up I will have at least one sale. But that assumes that I will finish revising a story! And I have spent way too much time writing this blog...I must go do some character development! Woo Hoo.
