It's the funny thing about calling yourself a writer, there's not really any form of validation you need to offer up besides the phrase "I'm a writer." Literally anyone can say it and there's no way to monitor this shit. Right now, this is writing, I am writing; so I'm just a writer now, am I? Or am I just a blogger, since that is the format in which I have chosen to write? Am I a blogger, writer, freelance food critic because I occasionally offer restaurant reviews on Yelp?
How did this happen? No other thing is like this at all. You don't just say, for example, "I am a musician" because you picked up a Ukulele while vacationing in Hawaii and have managed to eek out a couple chords on demand every time there's a lull in the dinner conversation. You don't say "I am a basketball player" because you successfully completed a game of pick up with some office buddies after work a few Fridays ago. Other professions have standards, they have actual rules about when you can and can't call yourself a part of them.
Where is this all coming from? Well, I've been thinking a lot lately about me (shocker) and then Chuck Wendig (via his amazing blog that you should follow immediately because it will make you better) asked writers to really evaluate themselves. It made me think about how invested I am in this writing thing; am I really a writer or do I just play one a couple days a week? Anyway, here are my answers. Head over to his blog and leave your own in comments.
a) What’s your greatest strength / skill in terms of writing/storytelling?
I think I know how to make characters talk in such a way that not too much eye rolling goes on.
b) What’s your greatest weakness in writing/storytelling? What gives you the most trouble?
Sometimes I want to make certain things happen so badly that I can't see how terrible it makes the story as a whole.
c) How many books or other projects have you actually finished? What did you do with them?
I've finished two books that I gave to my friends and family and this one English tutor I had in high school who is a genius. I wrote a play and we used it as a dinner theatre fundraiser for a fine arts trip. I've finished three screenplays, one of which has every potential to not suck, all of which I gave to other screenwriting friends and one of which (the not-sucking one) I paid for coverage on. Nothing published, nothing I got paid for.
d) Best writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. really helped you)
"I need you to work harder; the first thing you came up with is good, but that will never matter if you don't really work at it."
e) Worst writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. didn’t help at all, may have hurt)
"Have you ever thought about getting a writing coach?" Well-meaning sisters are the worst.
f) One piece of advice you’d give other writers?
Fucking write. Let's all just fucking write.
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