I'm not a writer...

[ostarella]

And I'm beginning to think I don't want to be. Because once again I find myself faced with such obstinate elitism it makes my head spin. See, I'm not a writer because I don't earn my living by writing. Even if I were published and getting paid for it, I wouldn't be a writer unless I supported myself by writing. Otherwise, I'm just a hobbyist. Or, in a more generous mood, I could be called an 'aspiring writer'.

The earth will shatter if I call myself an author.

Comments

[beckyblack]

Wow, by those standards there aren't that many writers around at all! Makes you wonder where all those books on Amazon come from. There must be a lot of hobbyists out there. And there aren't many painters, composers, dancers, musicians or actors either.

It's a weird attitude, as if writing is nothing more than a job. Artists have always had to balance their creative work with work that will put food on the table and buy shoes for the baby. If they were really lucky they had a patron or a relative to support them.

Don't let the bastards get you down! If you write, you're a writer. It's just a matter of degree how much of a part of someone's life "being a writer" is. A sliding scale from genuinely "hobbyist" and not interested in anything else, and full-time writer making their living from it. But if you write at all you're somewhere on that scale.

[billy-shriner.livejournal.com]

I agree with Becky (went to call you Jfm then ;-P). Whoever you've been talking to seriously has their head up their own arse! lol!

Isn't it, "I think therefore I am" ? Therefore, "I write therefore I am a writer" ;-p

It's hard. I'd like to make a full time living out of writing. But I'm a realist too. And you can make a living out of writing, it just takes a while. And what you call a living. We are all not going to become J K Rowling or Stephen King over night.

And depends how you want to do it. Reading Writing Magazine, there a lot of writers who make their living out of articles and short stories, getting letters published etc. Some can't even face the idea of writing a novel.

You keep at it and don't let the bastards get you down ;-)

[ostarella.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I figured. I asked these guys who wanted to volunteer to tell all these imposters, but so far no takers. LOL

[a1cmustangpilot.livejournal.com]

Elists just want to feel like they alone are special and that anyone else is just "aspiring" which as you definitely know is complete bollocks. People assume a lot of things when you say that you're a writer.

Writer = published
Writer = making lots of money

Or the most irritating thing for me in school...

Writer = loves essay writing

But we know that none of this is going to be 100% true. That's why whenever someone asks me what I am, I just reply with, "I'm an artist but most importantly, I'm a storyteller."

It doesn't imply anything other than that I tell stories. Plus, it sounds kind of neat and it isn't a demanding title at all! :) By the way, you have books on Amazon, yeah? You are an author! ;)
~

[ostarella.livejournal.com]

The whole thing is ludicrous. Just like there are people who claim there's a difference between a writer and an author - only in this case, they acknowledge that if you write, you're a writer; but you're not an author unless you're published and paid etc etc.

I really think it's either an excuse (I'm not there yet so nobody else can be) or being a 'speshful flower' (I've made it so everyone has to be just like me or they're failures).

[indemaat.livejournal.com]

Ah, that would make me a writer: I earn a living writing manuals. ;-)

In an attempt to say something others haven't said yet: (aspiring) writers and authors create fantasy worlds with fantasy meanings for words. Good for them, they seem to be on the right track for becoming writers.

In the real world, however, I'd suggest these people get themselves a new dictionary. The definition of writer is not "makes money selling books". They'd more likely find that definition under bookseller (Although these days most booksellers should probably be considered aspiring booksellers).

A writer is someone who writes. Though when discussing fanfic, I usually use the term author for the person who wrote the story, and only say writer when the story was really good. But that's just a personal association I have with the two words.

[ostarella.livejournal.com]

I think what I find irritating (or amusing, once I calm down) it the idea that there has to be a distinction. Like one is somehow better than the other. I can see making a personal distinction, don't get me wrong. But using the terminology to put down one group or elevate another - and especially when the so-called definition is so obviously out of whack with reality - just seems stupid.

But as another member of that forum said, only on a writers group could you find a lengthy discussion of those labels. LOL