It’s not unusual to finish a book and think ‘I could do that’ or even ‘I could write this better’. I suspect that many people fantasize about writing a novel or a screenplay at some point in their life. So, how do you know if it’s simply a passing fancy or if it’s your true calling?
I didn’t begin writing until I was in my thirties, but looking back at my life, there were clues and lots of them! This list is based on my experiences; it’s far from complete. If any of these feel familiar, you might be a writer.
1. When you were little, you could play alone for hours without being bored. When I was a child, I felt like everything I touched had a story to tell. I invented lives for Barbie and her friends, decided what kind of career she had that week, and if she would marry Ken or G.I. Joe or no one. (FYI, she usually chose Joe!) And, since I only had brothers, I was just as likely to spend hours setting up a town for Matchbox Cars as I was to play with dolls. What mattered was allowing the story to happen through the toy.
2. You read. A lot. And probably in multiple genres. Although I write romance, and that is my favorite genre to read, I will read almost anything. Among my non-romance favorites are the Harry Potter books, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson, and the Sneaky Pie Brown series. You prefer ‘real’ books to e-books, and you would rather own them than borrow them. And don’t get me started on the trauma of saying goodbye to the books on your shelves!
3. You were the kid in school who spent a lot of time staring out the window. I was forever being told that I daydreamed too much. You also may have vivid dreams that you remember.
4. You love discovering new words. When you read or hear one, you have to look it up as soon as possible and, in addition to the meaning, you want to know the origin of the word. You’re probably the type of person who loves collecting little factoids. I’ll confess that when I was a child, I read the dictionary, the encyclopedia, and the World Almanac.
5. Social media shortcuts for words make you cringe, and your text messages are always grammatically correct. You simply can’t understand how someone could not love and respect words!
6. You have a stack of notebooks (or flash drives) filled with story ideas, parts of stories, or maybe even complete novels, but you are very careful about sharing them. When you do let someone read them, you hold your breath (for days sometimes!) waiting to hear what they think.
7. You alternate between thinking that your story is brilliant and thinking that it’s complete crap. Writers are generally hypercritical and never really feel like what they’ve written is any good. If you think you’re a bad writer, chances are, you’re actually a good writer.
8. You have imaginary friends, and you aren’t a child. I have so many characters in my head that I don’t have an actual count. I’ve instituted a take-a-number system in my brain, though they rarely listen.
9. You don’t write to an audience or to satisfy the latest craze. Your stories are the ones that you want to read, and you don’t care if they become bestsellers or languish on the shelf. What you crave is to get your stories into the hands of the readers who will connect with them.
10. When you have a stressful day, your best therapy is to let yourself exist in a world of your creation. Writing and journaling are how you explore your feelings and how you put yourself into someone else’s skin.
11. You lose all track of time when the words are flowing, and your characters are speaking to you. For me, it’s like watching a movie in my head and taking dictation.
12. When you receive negative criticism or a bad review, you just keep writing. Yes, it hurts, because you’ve left your heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears on the page, but you learn what you need to learn (if anything) and let it go. The best medicine is to write, and then write some more.
13. You can’t even fathom the idea of not writing. It’s an essential part of who you are at heart.
14. You think about writing when you’re supposed to be doing other things (like that pesky real world job)! I’ve been guilty of writing in between phone calls at work, or of staring out the window while one of my stories played like a video in my head.
15. When you are out, you spend most of your time watching people and trying to figure out their stories, or you create one for them.
16. You’re probably a good listener. You’re curious about people and love to know what motivates them, so you love to have them tell you their stories. And yes, you probably file most of that away for future reference.
17. While you may enjoy certain aspects of the writing and publishing process more than others, you love them all (even the ones that make you nuts). Proofreading is tedious, but I almost always discover something new about my story when I do it. Editing can be painful, but taking that raw first draft and molding it can be amazing.
18. You love to talk to, encourage, nurture, and guide other writers. It’s fascinating to learn how wonderfully varied the craft of writing is.
19. You don’t always play by the rules because it’s your story and you need to tell it in your way. Besides, there are about a billion rules for writing and they contradict each other, so you do what works for you.
20. You are willing to take risks to share your story. For me, one of the risks was quitting my job after twenty years and taking some time to focus on writing. Another was taking the steps to put my book baby out there in the world. I’m still in the early stages of this journey, and yes, I’ve made a few mistakes, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
Still not sure? Why not find a list of writing prompts and play around. You might just surprise yourself.
I didn’t begin writing until I was in my thirties, but looking back at my life, there were clues and lots of them! This list is based on my experiences; it’s far from complete. If any of these feel familiar, you might be a writer.
1. When you were little, you could play alone for hours without being bored. When I was a child, I felt like everything I touched had a story to tell. I invented lives for Barbie and her friends, decided what kind of career she had that week, and if she would marry Ken or G.I. Joe or no one. (FYI, she usually chose Joe!) And, since I only had brothers, I was just as likely to spend hours setting up a town for Matchbox Cars as I was to play with dolls. What mattered was allowing the story to happen through the toy.
2. You read. A lot. And probably in multiple genres. Although I write romance, and that is my favorite genre to read, I will read almost anything. Among my non-romance favorites are the Harry Potter books, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson, and the Sneaky Pie Brown series. You prefer ‘real’ books to e-books, and you would rather own them than borrow them. And don’t get me started on the trauma of saying goodbye to the books on your shelves!
3. You were the kid in school who spent a lot of time staring out the window. I was forever being told that I daydreamed too much. You also may have vivid dreams that you remember.
4. You love discovering new words. When you read or hear one, you have to look it up as soon as possible and, in addition to the meaning, you want to know the origin of the word. You’re probably the type of person who loves collecting little factoids. I’ll confess that when I was a child, I read the dictionary, the encyclopedia, and the World Almanac.
5. Social media shortcuts for words make you cringe, and your text messages are always grammatically correct. You simply can’t understand how someone could not love and respect words!
6. You have a stack of notebooks (or flash drives) filled with story ideas, parts of stories, or maybe even complete novels, but you are very careful about sharing them. When you do let someone read them, you hold your breath (for days sometimes!) waiting to hear what they think.
7. You alternate between thinking that your story is brilliant and thinking that it’s complete crap. Writers are generally hypercritical and never really feel like what they’ve written is any good. If you think you’re a bad writer, chances are, you’re actually a good writer.
8. You have imaginary friends, and you aren’t a child. I have so many characters in my head that I don’t have an actual count. I’ve instituted a take-a-number system in my brain, though they rarely listen.
9. You don’t write to an audience or to satisfy the latest craze. Your stories are the ones that you want to read, and you don’t care if they become bestsellers or languish on the shelf. What you crave is to get your stories into the hands of the readers who will connect with them.
10. When you have a stressful day, your best therapy is to let yourself exist in a world of your creation. Writing and journaling are how you explore your feelings and how you put yourself into someone else’s skin.
11. You lose all track of time when the words are flowing, and your characters are speaking to you. For me, it’s like watching a movie in my head and taking dictation.
12. When you receive negative criticism or a bad review, you just keep writing. Yes, it hurts, because you’ve left your heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears on the page, but you learn what you need to learn (if anything) and let it go. The best medicine is to write, and then write some more.
13. You can’t even fathom the idea of not writing. It’s an essential part of who you are at heart.
14. You think about writing when you’re supposed to be doing other things (like that pesky real world job)! I’ve been guilty of writing in between phone calls at work, or of staring out the window while one of my stories played like a video in my head.
15. When you are out, you spend most of your time watching people and trying to figure out their stories, or you create one for them.
16. You’re probably a good listener. You’re curious about people and love to know what motivates them, so you love to have them tell you their stories. And yes, you probably file most of that away for future reference.
17. While you may enjoy certain aspects of the writing and publishing process more than others, you love them all (even the ones that make you nuts). Proofreading is tedious, but I almost always discover something new about my story when I do it. Editing can be painful, but taking that raw first draft and molding it can be amazing.
18. You love to talk to, encourage, nurture, and guide other writers. It’s fascinating to learn how wonderfully varied the craft of writing is.
19. You don’t always play by the rules because it’s your story and you need to tell it in your way. Besides, there are about a billion rules for writing and they contradict each other, so you do what works for you.
20. You are willing to take risks to share your story. For me, one of the risks was quitting my job after twenty years and taking some time to focus on writing. Another was taking the steps to put my book baby out there in the world. I’m still in the early stages of this journey, and yes, I’ve made a few mistakes, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
Still not sure? Why not find a list of writing prompts and play around. You might just surprise yourself.
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