Am I a writer? That’s a concept I struggle with often. 

I’ve read articles or quotes written by well-known authors that say if you don’t have the urge to write every day, you’re not a writer. To them, not putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys) every day meant that you truly weren’t destined to be a writer.

If I was following their logic, then no. I’m not destined to be a writer. 

Life is hard and busy, and I don’t find the time to write every single day. Some weeks go by when I don’t write, but does that mean that being a writer isn’t the right career choice for me?

We’re going to talk about the reasons why the definitive answer to my leading questions is YES. 

There’s a Difference Between a Writer and a Published Author

I attended Yallwest a few years ago. Yallwest is a young adult book convention held every year in Santa Monica. I love reading YA – the genre as a whole has opened up in the past ten or so years, and I wish that there had been more options like there are now when I was a teen. 

Anyway, I had the opportunity to meet Tomi Adeyemi, the author of Children of Blood and Bone. As I was waiting in line to meet Adeyemi and have her sign my copy of her book, I thought about what I would say. 

I decided to talk about how open and honest she is with her writing process on social media and how I’ve connected to that. At that time, she had recently struggled with deadlines in the publication process of her next book. I thought it was refreshing to see someone openly discuss their struggles instead of acting like writing and getting published is a walk in the park.

When I got up to Adeyemi and said the above, she asked if I was a writer. I said that I was an aspiring writer. She said, and I’m paraphrasing, “you’re not an aspiring writer. You are a writer. You can say that you’re an aspiring author, but once you commit to writing, you are a writer.” 

What she said struck a chord with me. Anyone can be a writer – you shouldn’t need to write something creative every day for that to be a fact. You can, of course, be an aspiring author if you haven’t gotten published yet.

You Don’t Have to Be an Avid Reader to Be a Writer

I don’t feel that you have to be an avid reader to be a writer. Reading helps me explore different worlds and see what other writers have done, but I don’t think that unless you have one, you can’t have the other. 

Reading does help me notice bad writing mechanics, and I make a mental note of things not to do when I see bad writing on the page. There’s nothing better than learning from someone else’s mistakes before making your own.

Don’t Be Fooled by Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is a real thing that affects a lot of people. It refers to believing that you’re not as intelligent and accomplished as other people perceive you. You feel like you’re a phony and a fraud and that you don’t belong where you are. 

Comparing ourselves to other people, especially on social media, doesn’t do us any favors. I know I’ll look at other writers and see that they’ve written an entire first draft while I’m stuck mulling over the same idea I’ve had for six months. 

We all suffer from various insecurities, and living in a creative space only adds to that. If your brain is telling you that you’re not a writer because you haven’t hit certain milestones yet, do your best to ask it to be quiet. 

Nobody Ever Has to Read Your Writing

You know the saying, “if a tree falls in the middle of a forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?” The answer is yes. It does make a sound. The same type of thinking applies to your writing. 

You could write for years, filling countless notebooks, and never show anybody. Writing for yourself, or even for your cat, makes you a writer. You could write a paragraph a month and still be a writer. 

Don’t Second Guess Yourself as a Writer

Follow your gut and write when it feels right to you (see what I did there?). Even if you’re hit with a flash of inspiration, flesh it out if you can or jot down the details so you can explore it later. Don’t let anyone, even if it’s just yourself, tell you that you’re not a writer. 

So, what makes you think that you’re a writer? Why do you think you’re not a writer? Drop a comment below with your thoughts.