Am I still considered a writer, even if�
I invite my colleagues to come in behind this and add their details.
ââŚI donât write every day?â Yes. You need to find your own best writing rhythm. Donât let people bully you into theirs.
ââŚit goes weeks or months between sessions?â Yes. Writing comes from an internal âaquiferâ that can take time to refill. Let it.
ââŚmy stories donât get any or much interaction?â No one can guarantee that anyone will interact with their work, even if it is good⌠now, or in decades/centuries past. For example: you want to sit down and have a long talk with the shade of James Joyce.
ââŚI only write fanfiction?â Oh FFS. This âFan fiction isnât as valid as non-fan fictionâ thing: who made THAT up? Write what you love. God knows I have, and continue to.
ââŚI only write for fun?â This is the single best and most valid reason to write. (Though `âand also for moneyâ comes pretty close behind it). You could, though, make a strong case for âThere is no point in writing for WHATEVER amount of money or fame if youâre not having fun as well.â In fact I think my professional colleagues may possibly agree that without the fun, the moneyâs value decreases significantly. Lack of fun in writing, in fact, could be considered to be one of the very few things in the world (besides outright currency devaluation) that can make money worth less.
ââŚsomeone criticizes my skill?â (âŚA pause while I fall to the ground wheezing with laughter.) Jeez. Publishers may try to declare you less of a writer than you are, but usually thatâs only because they know youâre about to be poached by another publisher.
ââŚmy family are the only ones who read my stories?â If only your family read your stuff? Assuming theyâre not assailing you with inadequate critiques about it, then they are perceptive people. Others will get there. Thank them for their support, and give it time.
â..I donât know writing terminology?â This is another O,FFS! thing. I couldnât diagram a sentence if my life depended on it. The only way I know about gerunds is from Nigel Molesworth. Just write.
ââŚI only write for myself, with no intention of sharing it with the world?â When you are a writer, you get to write only for yourself if thatâs what you choose. âŚAnd you know what? The world has its own imperatives. If you really donât want your words shared, dig a deep hole to put them in, and never tell anyone where it is. Because words will out.
ââŚI donât know writing terminology?â Whatever I previously knew, Iâm happily to have pretty much forgotten, except when I need to coordinate with editors. When I have to do that, if someone uses a writing word Iâve misplaced by disuse, I go look it up. No one cares.
ââŚIâm not very good at what Iâm doing?â If youâre just getting started on this journey (i.e., youâre only within the first five or ten years of it), youâre not in the best position to make that judgment. Give it some time yet.
ââŚI donât believe myself worthy of being called one?â Oh, gosh, who sold you the idea that you have to believe youâre worthy of this work to be doing it? Routinely the people who hand you this line are the ones who feel the most unworthy themselves. Unfollow them at your earliest convenience.
ââŚthe publisher turned me down?â Oh, my sweet summer child. The only time to pay attention to anything a publisher says is after theyâve paid you. If money hasnât changed hands, wave bye-bye and move on. Itâs not your job to validate them or their (soi-disant) taste. A publisherâs quality is known by those they take on, and how they treat them.
ââŚI only write one genre?â âŚWhat? What are you saying? You write. All writing is in the One Great Genre. Everything else is nonfiction. (Or something.) Youâre where you need to be. Relax, and write, and have a party. :)
ââŚI use clichĂŠs?â All clichĂŠs had some truth in them once. Thatâs how they got to be clichĂŠs. ⌠Some of them are still true. Use them judiciously⌠or rephrase them and make them new. Theyâll thank you for that.
ââŚI lack motivation?â Are you kidding? All working writers lack motivation, repeatedly, every single day. All you have to do is be motivated one more time than all those times⌠and then write something.
ââŚI excel at dialogue but suck at description, or vice versa?â If (a), write more dialogue. If (b), write more description. Play to your strengths, and let the world beat a path to your door. No one ever said you had to be great at everything.
ââŚI keep abandoning projects to start something new?â (a) Make sure to make notes on what youâve been working on. (b) Keep those notes safe, and move on! Sometimes the writerâs brain recognizes something as being of value, but doesnât yet know how to make use of it. Give it time.
ââŚI say screw the rules?â Every day, and twice on Sunday! Do it as necessary while finding your way. A big part of your job is to find what the rules are for you⌠the specific working writer who you are. Your job is to find the writing habits and style that will enable you to share with other human beings what the most important things are that you feel the need to share. âŚAnd to have as much fun as possible doing it.
âŚAre you still here? Get on with it! :)
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