Writer or author?

Joined
Jan 26, 2014
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9
I'm unsure if I had this discussion with myself or someone else, but it's been bugging me and I have insomnia.

My personal standards are that I'm not allowed to call myself an author until I publish at least one paying novel that I'm proud of, but I don't really mind what others call themselves.

But what's your opinion, when are you allowed to call yourself an author? And when are others allowed to call themselves such?
 
You are 'allowed' to call yourself anything you want. You were a writer the moment you decided to write.

Now what you call others is whatever they generally introduce themselves to you as.

If they call themselves a writer you do so as well. Same with author. Just remember the first thing I told you. It applied to them as well.

Myself? I'm proud to introduce myself as a "True Southern Smart Ass", with aspirations towards being a storyteller.

:D
MST
 
Well what others call themselves is of no concern of mine.

For myself? Truthfully it doesn't matter. I have free stuff here and paid work elsewhere.

I think if I had to choose I would go with writer and don't care what others refer to me as.

My ego is not that fragile
 
Well what others call themselves is of no concern of mine.

For myself? Truthfully it doesn't matter. I have free stuff here and paid work elsewhere.

I think if I had to choose I would go with writer and don't care what others refer to me as.

My ego is not that fragile

But it says "Author" under your forum name?!!! :confused:

Yet another instance of LC's lying, bearing false witness, jaywalking and the like.

I do so tire of you multitude of evils LC.

Though you do write a good slap and tickle. :p (heavy on the slap) ;)
 
About all people can say for sure is, theyre cowards, fulla shit, and ugly.
 
Yayy, the nagging voice has been silenced. (turns out it was me)

I like " MSTarot"'s answer, and by that logic I want to call myself Dwarviken. *-*

And I like labels in this context, they act as goals for me :3

Fragile ego!! (I am not sure what I meant in saying it that way, but I was forced ._.)
 
But it says "Author" under your forum name?!!! :confused:

Yet another instance of LC's lying, bearing false witness, jaywalking and the like.

I do so tire of you multitude of evils LC.

Though you do write a good slap and tickle. :p (heavy on the slap) ;)

Yeah but I've only been vetted by me.

And you forgot that I also tear the tags from mattresses
 
I was always partial to the title "Esquire."

It doesn't have anything to do with erotica and I would probably need to wear a silk robe and smoke a meerschaum pipe while writing, but I kinda like the way it sounds.


Attack of The Crazy Whip-Wielding Nymphomaniac Nazi Transvestites

by StrangeLife, Esq.


Yep - definitely got a certain ring to it... :)
 
In my mind, an author is a creator <of something>, and a writer is one who uses writing to communicate <something>. Other than that, there is not much of a difference.

Ah, yes: you forgot about "storyteller". :cool:
 
In someone's sig line it says:

An Author is a lair with typing skills. :D

I prefer storyteller. No typing involved. :cool:
 
I'm a writer when I wordsmith at another's direction, others ideas.

Ex. I am currently writing scripts and back story for a game that is currently in production. Although I know what the game is about and have played similar games, I am writing at another's direction and bringing their ideas to life.

I'm an author when I wordsmith my ideas and words.

Ex. When I write a story I have created, whether it be for a free site like Lit. or for pay over at Smashwords or Amazon I am an author.
 
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I was the one who hid waldo

Waldo = wears concealing headgear/hats even in tropical locals. :cool:

This behavior = likely terrorist

LC confesses to hiding said "waldo"

Ergo - LC knowingly harbors terrorist. :mad:

(has anyone ever done "LC is a terrorist?" Surely but I wanted to make sure we've covered everything.)
 
In my mind, an author is a creator <of something>, and a writer is one who uses writing to communicate <something>. Other than that, there is not much of a difference.

Ah, yes: you forgot about "storyteller". :cool:

So therefore we would be The Bajek?
 
If you're interested in a technical response to the OP, an author is a writer with ownership of the material. Someone termed more correctly as a writer (although authors certainly are writing and thus are writers) than an author, is writing for hire. Someone writing columns for a newspaper or news agency that owns whatever its employees write, for instance, isn't really an author--they don't won what they write.

So, anyone posting stories to Literotica who wants to call him/herself an author has every right to do so.
 
Waldo = wears concealing headgear/hats even in tropical locals. :cool:

This behavior = likely terrorist

LC confesses to hiding said "waldo"

Ergo - LC knowingly harbors terrorist. :mad:

(has anyone ever done "LC is a terrorist?" Surely but I wanted to make sure we've covered everything.)

Waldo: a character in a book written by R.A.Heinlein.

Also from same book: Waldos are a remote controlled set of hands used to manipulate dangerous or overly large pieces of material.
 
If you're interested in a technical response to the OP, an author is a writer with ownership of the material. Someone termed more correctly as a writer (although authors certainly are writing and thus are writers) than an author, is writing for hire. Someone writing columns for a newspaper or news agency that owns whatever its employees write, for instance, isn't really an author--they don't won what they write.

So, anyone posting stories to Literotica who wants to call him/herself an author has every right to do so.

Hmmm...I seem to have read that somewhere before? Now where could it have been? :rolleyes:

I'm a writer when I wordsmith at another's direction, others ideas.

Ex. I am currently writing scripts and back story for a game that is currently in production. Although I know what the game is about and have played similar games, I am writing at another's direction and bringing their ideas to life.

I'm an author when I wordsmith my ideas and words.

Ex. When I write a story I have created, whether it be for a free site like Lit. or for pay over at Smashwords or Amazon I am an author.
 
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Oh, you evil, diabolical little...

That was a particularly vicious thing to do to me alongside my first caffeine jolt of the day. :mad:

Well, since I'm the sort who can't resist studying the inside of my navel and any other relevant sources when these little philosophical conundrums come up, I took refuge first in my own mind and then in Google and finally fell back on three real (and really heavy) books. And this is what I came up with.

An author for all practical purposes is a creator. This can be a written work, but it can also be of other matters such as theories and/or plans. As a synonym for this particular word, "originator" is generally the most widely accepted.

A writer is usually one who engages in scratching out visible sound symbols in some medium. While one potential meaning of the term shares an intersection with "author", for the most part this shared meaning is generally accepted to relate only to writing a story of some sort initially conceived by the one doing the writing and does not expand to include such concepts as theories and/or plans. Alternatively, one who scratches out something in sound syllables that are originally conceived by someone else, or something as innocuous as a grocery list, or something as inane as this philosophical rambling can be said to be a writer merely through the action of placing sound syllables into a visual format to convey an idea.

A story teller is typically one who tells a falsehood. While this may be to an end of entertainment for the audience, it could also be for their own aggrandizement or escapism. A story teller can work in any medium, whether it be written, verbal, or even song or other artistic media so long as a conceptual falsehood is shared with an audience. It actually took the most time to wrap my mind around this concept as some stories are based on, or at least pretend to be based in, factual accountings. As nearly as I can determine, the act of sharing the work from a singular perspective is what delineates it as a potential falsehood to meet the criteria since it does not account for other, potentially conflicting, viewpoints of the same events. A work that does utilize multiple viewpoint and credits them becomes something else.

Finally, I came to the conclusion that earlier postings in this thread are entirely correct and the adoption of one term or another for ones self is a matter of choice of the individual as they are all potentially equally correct and incorrect. And that polite etiquette would demand the use of the term an individual used for him or herself if the desire is to remain on cordial terms and to do otherwise would be seen as issuing a challenge to their self image and would not be a polite or cordial interaction.

As a result, I have decided to use none of these terms to describe myself and instead fall back on an older term of "gentlemanly warrior/scholar/poet". However, I will accept "supreme pontificator" as well so long as the anchovies are held.

Good God. I'm going to get another cup of coffee. And in return for your evilness, I am going to ask you whether the first man and woman had a navel and support your hypothesis with something other than "'cause I think they did", you little existentialist. *yawn* Have fun.
 
A creative/artist. I paint and photograph in addition to writing, it's easier to have one word to cover it all.
 
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