Defining Writers

A Family of Readers

This family reads books together. Probably each one is reading something written by a different author. Every member of the family has similar traits, yet is also unique in many ways. It's the same with the authors whose books they are reading. It's possible that one of the people in this family is a writer. He/she doesn't have a label on their forehead defining them, however. 

Ever asked yourself who writers are? If you're a writer, do you consider yourself the same as other writers or do you feel like you're outside looking in? Who are the writers?

At the top of the ladder, we find the professional and successful authors whose names we recognize in a nanosecond. They work at writing on a full-time basis and fit their personal life around their work time.

There are writers who also work full-time writing for magazines and newspapers and other media. They manage to work their personal life around the time they spend writing. 

Next, we might list part-time writers who spend only a portion of their day writing but they are serious about what they do for that part-time job. They write with the aim of being published. Some of them are successful while others struggle.

What about hobbyist writers? They might also hope for publication but they're alright if it doesn't happen. They aren't depending on what they sell to pay the rent. These writers pursue the craft because they love to write. There are some who share their passion with friends and family and others who do it quietly, keeping it to themselves.

Another group of writers is comprised of people who want to write but don't want to share with anyone. They write in journals which they never show to anyone else. They write short stories, perhaps even a novel which no one will ever read. This kind of writer is satisfied with writing only for themselves. And that's quite alright.

I've grouped the kinds of writers but who are these people? They are people you sit next to in a movie theater. They are folks you follow down a grocery aisle--both selecting products off the shelf. They are mothers and fathers picking up children from daycare of school. They're an aunt or uncle, maybe even your mother or father. They are someone you sit next to in church every Sunday. They might hold a position in your city government. They could be the butcher who cuts meat for you or your mailman. People from all walks of life can be writers as well as hold other jobs. They are 'just plain folks' in many cases. 

Go to church next Sunday and pay a little closer attention to the sermon. The priest or pastor wrote that sermon and does it week in and week out but do you think of him/her as a writer? Probably not. When you go to a program that a club or church or school puts on, someone wrote it. When you read the newspaper or a magazine, many people wrote the contents. We read blogs but do we consider the people who write them on a monthly, weekly or daily basis as real writers? If you write, you are a writer whether your words reach the public through publication or the spoken word or not at all.