Do you consider yourself a "real" writer?
- Thread starter KillerMuffin
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oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
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I think I'm a real writer, writing rubbish.
In RL I have a list of highly technical, boring and out of date publications.
But a "real" creative writer? No, I'm not. I'd like to be but I need more training, more practice, and about a hundred years to learn the craft. Even then I'd only be a "real" writer if other people recognise me as one.
A writer can be successful in terms of sales and income and still not be recognised as a "real" writer. Two examples:
Arthur Upfield and his Boney detective stories set in Australia were entertaining but upset the Australian literary scene because his writing technique was seen as limited.
J T Edson wrote over a hundred Western stories with simple plots. His books sold well but his literary merit was derided.
Trollope would have defined them as "real" writers. Most other aspirants to literary excellence would not. But Trollope admitted that he wrote TO MAKE MONEY!
Og
In RL I have a list of highly technical, boring and out of date publications.
But a "real" creative writer? No, I'm not. I'd like to be but I need more training, more practice, and about a hundred years to learn the craft. Even then I'd only be a "real" writer if other people recognise me as one.
A writer can be successful in terms of sales and income and still not be recognised as a "real" writer. Two examples:
Arthur Upfield and his Boney detective stories set in Australia were entertaining but upset the Australian literary scene because his writing technique was seen as limited.
J T Edson wrote over a hundred Western stories with simple plots. His books sold well but his literary merit was derided.
Trollope would have defined them as "real" writers. Most other aspirants to literary excellence would not. But Trollope admitted that he wrote TO MAKE MONEY!
Og
MathGirl
Cogito
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Og's a writer
Yes, Og. You are a writer. I seldom read anything posted here, but I've read yours. They aren't very sexy, but they're writerly. Whatever that means. I like them. They're gentle, unhurried. I think you might be very good writing genteel murder mysteries like Dame Agatha or PD. Yours would be 700 pages, but a delight to read for a small number of people.
James Michener said, "It's easy to get rich being a writer, but it's hard to make a living." Now somebody's gonna tell me that someone other then JM said that.
MG
Yes, Og. You are a writer. I seldom read anything posted here, but I've read yours. They aren't very sexy, but they're writerly. Whatever that means. I like them. They're gentle, unhurried. I think you might be very good writing genteel murder mysteries like Dame Agatha or PD. Yours would be 700 pages, but a delight to read for a small number of people.
James Michener said, "It's easy to get rich being a writer, but it's hard to make a living." Now somebody's gonna tell me that someone other then JM said that.
MG
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Chicklet
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KillerMuffin said:
no, I don't. I can't really pinpoint why...probably just low self-esteem telling myself that I suck ass at writing. I honestly wouldn't be able to say what would have to happen in my head for me to consider myself a "writer"
-Chicklet
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Gabriel_Lee
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Real?: yes
Writer?: yes
Good?: don't care
(dammit, yes I do care, but I sure ain't gonna show it.)
Writer?: yes
Good?: don't care
(dammit, yes I do care, but I sure ain't gonna show it.)
sweetnpetite
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If you wait until you "master" the craft of writing, you'll never consider yourself 'a real writer.'
If you wait till people like you, what does that prove? Some of the greatest where never appreciated in there lifetime, and many hacks have lots a fans.
If you wait till you get payed, how much is enough? Because when it comes to money, its never enough.
If you care about your writing, the process and the product, if you take pride in your work, if you continually strive to improve, if writing is important to your sense of who you are--you are a writer.
I think for some of us, "writer" has achieved this mythical status like "star" something that is for other people and not ourselves and we measure ourselves against an impossible yardstick. But writers are normal people- even the few that reach celebraty status are ususally quite down to earth (while managing to also have there head in the clouds!) I know as a kid, I thought that "real writers" where rich and famous and lived in NYC. They got more fanmail than Madonna (who was very big at the time!) and where glamourous and sophisticated and smart. Well, as much as I would love to be all that, I won't wait until I've reached that level to call myself a writer!
We tend to take our own gifts and tallents for granted. I've definatly done my share of that, but I hope that I am on the road to my true path in life and I know that it includes writing. Doesn't anybody else here feel that writing is a part of who they are? More than putting words on paper, that its an undeniable force, even a calling, a place that you keep coming back to no matter how many times you try to go in another direction????
Do you feel the tug?
If you wait till people like you, what does that prove? Some of the greatest where never appreciated in there lifetime, and many hacks have lots a fans.
If you wait till you get payed, how much is enough? Because when it comes to money, its never enough.
If you care about your writing, the process and the product, if you take pride in your work, if you continually strive to improve, if writing is important to your sense of who you are--you are a writer.
I think for some of us, "writer" has achieved this mythical status like "star" something that is for other people and not ourselves and we measure ourselves against an impossible yardstick. But writers are normal people- even the few that reach celebraty status are ususally quite down to earth (while managing to also have there head in the clouds!) I know as a kid, I thought that "real writers" where rich and famous and lived in NYC. They got more fanmail than Madonna (who was very big at the time!) and where glamourous and sophisticated and smart. Well, as much as I would love to be all that, I won't wait until I've reached that level to call myself a writer!
We tend to take our own gifts and tallents for granted. I've definatly done my share of that, but I hope that I am on the road to my true path in life and I know that it includes writing. Doesn't anybody else here feel that writing is a part of who they are? More than putting words on paper, that its an undeniable force, even a calling, a place that you keep coming back to no matter how many times you try to go in another direction????
Do you feel the tug?
Svenskaflicka
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I'm a real writer. I just haven't been published yet.
The_Fool
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I contend that we are all writers. We write if we take part in this thread, post poems, post stories, write emails, write letters, you get the picture. So there are letter writers, email writers, proposal writers, grant writers, poets, novelists, short story writers, etc. Next question. Now the next question becomes are you a “good” writer or a “bad” writer. If you ask a group, you are more than likely going to get votes in both areas. As a writer, you need to determine your audience. Those votes are the most important, after your own. Finally, the next question in the series is are you successful or not. That is a question you have to ask yourself as a writer and only you can answer. I consider myself successful in that I have accomplished certain goals and unsuccessful in that I have not accomplished others. I have not even tried to accomplish them….yet. Okay, somebody kick the soapbox out from underneath me.
oggbashan
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Thanks MG. I'm glad there are a few people who like my scribbles.
I think that almost all the contributors to this board are real writers, published or not. Read any thread and you find practised use of English that is sadly lacking in many schools in the UK.
Even the repartee shows significant understanding.
Og
I think that almost all the contributors to this board are real writers, published or not. Read any thread and you find practised use of English that is sadly lacking in many schools in the UK.
Even the repartee shows significant understanding.
Og
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Quasimodem
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I'm not a writer. I’m a wage slave with communications skills. 
Of course, the money is never enough, but if one can live on it without shoplifting at the five and dime, what else does one call oneself?
I actually got away with claiming that I’m a “software assembler” for a large television chain, once.
It was better than explaining to some mouth breather that WWF matches are actually fixed.
Of course, the money is never enough, but if one can live on it without shoplifting at the five and dime, what else does one call oneself?
I actually got away with claiming that I’m a “software assembler” for a large television chain, once.
It was better than explaining to some mouth breather that WWF matches are actually fixed.
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jfinn
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The_Fool said:
I have to agree with the fool. The definition of a writer is so broad that anyone who regularly puts sentences into paragraphs fits the bill. You can narrow it down with qualifyers and mark a cut off line at what you personally think constitutes a writer, but really that's just opinion. The fact is that all of us here are writers.
Is that really the issue though? Svenska said she isn't a real writer because she hasn't published yet, but she's a reporter. She's told us that before and I think that certainly qualifies as writing. Others too have said that they don't make the cut and then go on to say they make their livings at putting words together. So perhaps it isn't the definition of a writer that's important but what we think of the qualifier 'real'.
I'm a writer. I make money at it in various permutations, almost none of which are very creative. I've done so for a long time and hopefully will continue to do so for a lot longer. I remember vividly the first time I was introduced to someone as, "This is Jayne, she's a writer." It was a huge rush and to this day it's a secret thrill to hear myself described that way. But even so being paid and putting down writer in the occupation box of my credit card applications are not enough to make me feel like I'm real writer.
I want to tell stories, to spin tales that make people forget that the trash needs emptying and the next day at work is going to be a bitch. I want to know that someone lost sleep because they couldn't stop reading until they got to the end and then they still had to go back and reread their favorite passages because they weren't quite ready to leave a world I created.
When I can do that, then I'll be a real writer.
Jayne
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It's funny you should ask this question at this time as I have been asking myself this very same thing of late. I've received royalties for my work, and more than my share of applause. But am I a "REAL" Writer? It seems like ages ago that somebody asked me why I write? I said: "Because I can't not write," and thought I meant it, and probably did at that time. But recently, as my muse hibernates like Emily Dickinson, I'm once again wondering if I'm a "Real" Writer, or not. Will I ever know? I doubt it. There will always be this nagging itch behind my left ear that causes me to stop, and wonder. And perhaps it's only right that we do wonder, as the alternative is brazen arrogance at what little we really have accomplished in writing.
DS
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It's funny you should ask this question at this time as I have been asking myself this very same thing of late. I've received royalties for my work, and more than my share of applause. But am I a "REAL" Writer? It seems like ages ago that somebody asked me why I write? I said: "Because I can't not write," and thought I meant it, and probably did at that time. But recently, as my muse hibernates like Emily Dickinson, I'm once again wondering if I'm a "Real" Writer, or not. Will I ever know? I doubt it. There will always be this nagging itch behind my left ear that causes me to stop, and wonder. And perhaps it's only right that we do wonder, as the alternative is brazen arrogance at what little we really have accomplished in our writing.
DS
