This guest post from author Thomas E. Kennedy is the first of four, each focusing on a question that has empowered him - and could also empower you - as a writer.
Q: When do you become a writer?
Thomas E. Kennedy: When you’re starting out and have published little, maybe nothing at all yet, it is hard to believe in yourself as a writer. Back when I’d only published two or three stories, although I had been at it for years, when someone asked me what I did, I felt funny claiming to be a writer.
Did I really have to identify myself with the day job that paid my bills even though I considered writing the most important thing I did?
I asked a former teacher, Gordon Weaver, whose resumé included a dozen books of fiction, at what point he felt comfortable saying he was a writer. His answer empowered me.
He said, "A writer is someone who writes. A serious writer is someone for whom writing is the most serious activity he or she knows. The amount of publication, money, fame you might get – these are extra-literary factors."
With those words at my back, I began to call myself a writer.
How do you feel about calling yourself a writer?
Thomas E. Kennedy is the author of eight novels, as well as several collections of short stories and essays. He teaches creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
In the Company of Angels, published by Bloomsbury in June 2010, is one of four novels comprising the Copenhagen Quartet. It is the first of Kennedy’s books to be published in the UK.
Click to visit the official website of Thomas E. Kennedy »
In a class during my first year, we touched the topic of author and authority. The question was "Who is an author" and when we expanded it we thought about "what makes a person a writer". The answer, I believe is in the end, always subjective.
My belief is backed up by the Rilke's first letter from "Letters to a young poet" - he said that if you wake up and feel that writing is what you should do, it is. And if you fall asleep with nothing but writing in your heart, then you should write.
That is how I feel and I write. That makes me a writer. I might never publish anything, but my stories, my ideas and every sentence I write comes from that abysmally deep place inside of me and when I die, god knows what will write on my tombstone, but everyone who knows me will know that deep in my heart, I was a writer.
But as I said, the answer to this question is always subjective.
All best,
Jessica
*stands up* Hi, my name is Heather Christie and i'm a wannabe novelist/authoress (is that a word? If not, it should be!). Personally i wouldn't define myself as a writer until i have successfully published a book and seen it in Waterstones. Until the moment i receive some money for my work then i class it as just a hobby. Just like i wouldn't define myself as a runner because i like running, or a chef because i like cooking. But it's up to you. If writing is your be all and end all then by all means define yourself as an writer. If you haven't published yet, it's a little dodgy, but call yourself whatever you feel comfortable with. It's just another label.
I suppose you become a writer when you wish to put pen to paper, or even have the story in your head and deliver it orally.
I find most people who define themselves as writers, have done so because they have managed to tap into that universal environment we all share. We can transmit that successfully to those beyond our own circles then we have become a writer, I guess.
Not an easy question to answer.