What kind of people are writers?

Who are writers and what is writing?

I have been thinking about all the advice and posts and emails directed towards writers that talk about imposter syndrome, rejections, fear of rejection, not being seen or read, frustrations over not having enough comments, not having enough money prospects with writing, fear of losing your writing job to AIs…

And it hit me. Why are we so afraid someone can take writing from us? Is being a writer a title bestowed upon us from some higher internet authority, that counts our website views, our comments, our published works, how much money we make from it? Are you afraid to call yourself a writer, because you don’t have 10 books on Amazon as proof? Because if you are not earning money or being validated by hundreds of readers, you can’t possibly be a writer?

I used to have the same fears, but now it sounds ridiculous to me. Writing is a part of the daily life of every person, it’s not like you have to go around convincing others of its value. An average person has to write emails, messages, make presentations, write reports or protocols. We write journals and diaries, we tell stories about our holidays or when we recommend something or warn someone, we have to explain ourselves to our family and friends, coworkers and neighbours. Life is filled with writing, with the need to communicate with other people around you. 

To write is to communicate. We can’t go around in this world without meeting other people and communicating with them. Do you know how important communication is? From a salesman whose job depends on it, to formulating things correctly, so your friends understand you, so your mother doesn’t get sad, so many little conflicts and interactions depend on good communication.

In this context, what does it mean to be a writer? 

A writer is someone who concerns himself with writing. Someone who likes to play with words, who is said to be really good at bringing things to a point, in summing up complicated concepts or long meetings in a sentence or two. Someone who studies writing is going to be well-equipped in the skill of writing, right? It’s only logical. If you like the sound of words and sentences, if you love reading anything and everything around you, if you have so many thoughts that you need or want to express, that journaling helps you, that a poem a day clears your mind or you like writing way too long messages or can’t stop the words from falling in daily discussions…you are a writer.  

You are good at what you put time and effort into. So who or what is a writer? A person that puts concentration and hours a day into improving his or her writing. We study it, read, save quotes, sum up books or paragraphs, keep notes, we write for ourselves, for stories, to communicate something to others or just to ourselves.

So why are you not proud of this? Of this effort and time, of your passion and love that leads you to devote yourself to it?

Writing is a beautiful way to get in touch with yourself, your emotions, thoughts, anxieties, your goals and joys in life. It’s beautiful for expressing ideas, concepts and complicated thoughts, deep musings for any kind of topic. It’s great for communicating with others, in holding their attention and not letting them go, until they read to the end of that story of yours or listen to that anecdote or joke you want to say. 

Nonfiction writing is filled with musings, poems with feelings and observations, fiction with daydreaming. They are all thoughts in our head, vivid imagination, energy in our brains. Do we become writers, because we fulfil this? Because we daydream? Because no one could take daydreaming from me. It’s such an integral part of my life, of my head, since early childhood, it’s always there in a long queue, while washing the dishes, while having a walk, while lying in the bed with my eyes open and heart racing. 

The best quote I ever read about this comes from Terry Brooks and his book Sometimes the magic works:

„Writers are not all here, because a part of them is always “over there”—“over there” being whatever world they are writing about at present. Writers live in two worlds—the real world of friends and family and the imaginary world of their writing.”

So a writer isn’t a title, a list of achievements, a work portfolio, a sum of money on the paycheck. It’s a state of being, a way of living, an approach to the world. It’s a person.

And may I remind you. All people need to write. All people need to communicate.

Writers are just the ones who are damn good at it.