In my blog post yesterday, I wrote a sentence that began with, “As a writer.” I actually felt a little uncomfortable using “writer” as a word to describe myself. Am I really? I mean, writing accounted for precisely $0 on my W-2 last year and the idea of getting published one day often seems like a long-shot at best. Given that, can I really claim to be a writer?
This question made me think of a Nick Hornby quote I came across a little while back:
"One of the questions that is probably troubling you at the moment is this: How do I know whether I’m a writer? And the question can only be answered with another question: Well, do you write? If you don’t, you’re not. If you do, you are. There’s nothing else to it. If, in a month’s time, you have produced a novel, or a chunk of a novel, and you have never written before, then you will have changed your status, simply and crucially. Ah, but are you a good writer? Because that’s probably the question that best articulates the nagging doubt that has held you up hitherto. And I’m afraid you will never know the answer to that one. No writer does."
Over the last month, I’ve made a commitment to writing something every day, even if it’s just one terribly uncreative phrase, and I’ve usually been able to meet this goal. So according to Nick’s definition, I am, in fact, a writer!
But am I a good writer? I know a number of literary agents who would respond with a resounding, “No!” to that question. But I also know a lot of people who like my stories and really connect with them. So the answer is…maybe!
As Nick said, I’ll never know for sure and it really depends who you are asking. I guess the key point is to continue to work on my craft and stop worrying about whether other people think I’m “good.” If I instead focus on growth by writing every day, then at least I will be able to say that I’m a writer, and know for sure that it’s true.