Thinking of yourself as a writer

[EmilyMiller]

So there is the utilitarian POV. You write, therefor you are a writer. But I’ve never felt like that. I felt like someone scribbling away, doing their best.

I think today, I’m beginning to think of myself as a writer. Why?

Well Laurel just accepted my Geek Pride submission for publication. I sent it in early as I was worried it might trigger the review bot. I also PMed Laurel and wrote an accompanying note. As my fictionalized self says in the story: “I am nothing if not thorough.”

But that’s kinda beside the point, save that it was accepted. Why was this a milestone for me?

Well it’s my longest story at over 30k words. And the trilogy it is part of is over 60k words. Those are chunky numbers. But size isn’t everything .

More so is that - though I have dabbled in a limited way before - these three pieces were my first wholly creative ones. Not based on personal experience (well some elements onviously). Not based on other people’s ideas. Not with the safety blanket of familiar settings. Made up in entirety.

That’s not something I thought I could do and that’s why I now think of myself as a writer.

Next to become a good writer .

Have you had any similar seminal moment?

Em

—

UPDATE: I was clearly deluded and naive when I started this thread - my self-evaluation is now rather more realistic and better aligned with what people actually think of my scribbles

 

[ElectricBlue]

Good one, Em!

My equivalent moment was when Rope and Veil was so well received. I knew I was taking a huge risk, writing about a person with a disability that I had no practical or personal experience with (a woman with a broken back and the able bodied man who falls for her), but the feedback was both humbling and affirming.

That was when I arrived at the notion of erotica with a social conscience. That story marks the point where I thought of myself as a writer, with something useful to say, and my own way of saying it.

 

[TxRad]

When my first royalty check hit the bank.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Good one, Em!

My equivalent moment was when Rope and Veil was so well received. I knew I was taking a huge risk, writing about a person with a disability that I had no practical or personal experience with (a woman with a broken back and the able bodied man who falls for her), but the feedback was both humbling and affirming.

That was when I arrived at the notion of erotica with a social conscience. That story marks the point where I thought of myself as a writer, with something useful to say, and my own way of saying it.

I think Faulkner put it well: "Don't be a writer. Just be writing."

 

[SimonDoom]

I have a utilitarian and unsentimental point of view. If you write, you are a writer. I wrote nothing creative from my teens until my 50s. And then I started writing these crazy erotic stories here in 2016, and from the moment I started doing so I considered myself a writer. I've never gotten hung up on labels, or status, or being "a writer." I do what I do, and I think that's the healthiest way to look at it.

I think art in general suffers from too much mysticism--the mythic, romantic, heroic concept of the "artist" as being something different and apart from other mere mortals. I don't think Shakespeare thought of himself this way, and he was the greatest dramatist/poet in English history. He thought of himself as a craftsman trying to write good plays and poems that audiences would appreciate. Charles Dickens was the same way. So was Mark Twain. Do what you do, do it the best you can, and don't worry what label is appropriate to describe what you are doing.

 

[Euphony]

However one gets to that point is what matters but a writer's self-confidence built on a foundation of external praise or other outside factors is problematic.

Maybe my internalization comes from the fact so much writer reading material spends oceans of time on the touchy feely establishment of your writer "validity," muses and spiritual development (aspiring writer books feel like they are courting more of the self-help crowd than the dry, technical manuals of the 90s.) so it was bound to establish itself through volume exposure while sifting through for other craft knowledge I was researching.

Some of my favorite AHers are so based off of nothing but encouraging other writers to take up their own pen without overthinking the whole of writing (it is such a self-defeating hobby at times.)

I try to do so as well but those who read as low effort are tough to find empathy for sometimes.

I'll take grammar atrocities (shout out to non-native speakers! *Fist bump* ) over those looking for serious hand holding and/or coddling any day.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

So there is the utilitarian POV. You write, therefor you are a writer. But I’ve never felt like that. I felt like someone scribbling away, doing their best.

I think today, I’m beginning to think of myself as a writer. Why?

Well Laurel just accepted my Geek Pride submission for publication. I sent it in early as I was worried it might trigger the review bot. I also PMed Laurel and wrote an accompanying note. As my fictionalized self says in the story: “I am nothing if not thorough.”

But that’s kinda beside the point, save that it was accepted. Why was this a milestone for me?

Well it’s my longest story at over 30k words. And the trilogy it is part of is over 60k words. Those are chunky numbers. But size isn’t everything .

More so is that - though I have dabbled in a limited way before - these three pieces were my first wholly creative ones. Not based on personal experience (well some elements onviously). Not based on other people’s ideas. Not with the safety blanket of familiar settings. Made up in entirety.

That’s not something I thought I could do and that’s why I now think of myself as a writer.

Next to become a good writer .

Have you had any similar seminal moment?

Em

It is a great feeling, one I remember starting to feel about halfway through my stories. Now I've proven to myself I can write in a sensible, readable, decent way and I am fucking proud about it. How truly good my writing is, remains to be seen, but that moment when you realize you can create a story that doesn't suck is priceless

 

[Andrew1968]

I’ve never really had such an epiphany. I’ve never experienced some moment where I suddenly regarded myself as a writer. I just started writing and publishing stories here at Literotica. The first bunch weren’t very good. My stories, I would like to think, have improved over time. If someone makes the effort, then they should improve, I think.

I’m an amateur writer of erotic fiction. I’m definitely not as skilled at writing, as artists like, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, James Joyce, William Faulkner and Patrick White, etc. I will never be that skilled, and that’s okay.

I guess experiencing that sort of epiphany is important if someone wishes others to regard them as a writer. I must admit that how I’m regarded by others is not so important to me anymore. It certainly was when I was younger. I think it was Jasper Johns who stood up and stated that he was an artist and that he intended to be sincere and mean what he said and state what he meant. There is something in that act of declaring oneself to be this and not something else. I really don’t go that far. I just do it and then I do it again. I think it's difficult to control people's perception of you. I can't be bothered trying that hard to do that sort of thing anymore.

 

[Euphony]

I think art in general suffers from too much mysticism--the mythic, romantic, heroic concept of the "artist" as being something different and apart from other mere mortals.

Arts funding evaporating in schools has made it feel unapproachable to many and the marketing of the form as self-help through books, blogs, courses, etc. etc. compounds the problem (the focus is buying the marketed product, not necessarily the prospective artist actually crafting product. Actually, such success can run counter to the money making machine in particularly offensive examples.)

I do believe there is some mysticism woo woo in creation (as there is in the natural world and life) but not so much so that most anyone can do it to an enriching level (technicals require more effort and focus.)

The BEST contemplation on the art I've ever come across is still Elizabeth Gilbert's audiobook Big Magic.

Easily dismissed as woo woo (by she of Eat, Pray, Love which had me dismissive too) it is a wonderful blending of the ethereal components of creation and the roll up your sleeves, get in there and just do it of actually hammering out the work.

Also discusses the common self-defeat-ions and how higher learning art is incentivized by the belief quality creation requires considerable years (and expense) in their halls.

We all have our own special motivational blend of what works for us and furthers our aims and I was dumbfounded how, on serious reflection, I realized just how close I tracked to hers.

Her popularity is such that there's a good chance most libraries have it or access or can get it for you.

It's worth the try and you might find yourself surprised in a way (or a number of ways) as was I.

 

[alohadave]

Like many things, if you do something, you are something.

As there is no licensing agency that controls the use of the moniker: Writer, if you write, you are a writer.

There is no quantitative level you have to reach to call yourself a writer.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Umm. No. I don't really see myself as a writer. My whole life I've been a hobbyist, doing artistic things that let me scratch that creative itch. I think writing here is just another of those hobbys, that I may or may not keep doing over the long haul. I write smut for people who are looking for such. I have no illusions. Most of the posts in this thread are better written than my stories. But they have been well received and I enjoy doing them. If that makes me a writer by definition, so be it, but I don't think of myself that way.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Male scribo, ergo sum.

 

[djrip]

I also think of myself as a hobbyist, having fun, writing mostly silly things. But I knew I'd arrived when I got this comment: "Oh fuck, I'm wet."

 

[ElectricBlue]

I also think of myself as a hobbyist, having fun, writing mostly silly things. But I knew I'd arrived when I got this comment: "Oh fuck, I'm wet."

Yep, comments like that are the true sign of arrival. I still cite GaryGuitar (and isn't that the best account name?), who wrote, "and my reaction was... considerable!"

Job done!

 

[Djmac1031]

I personally still have difficulty thinking of myself as a writer.

I'm a guy who writes stories, yes. Does that make me a WRITER?

Only in the sense that a kid (or adult for that matter) who draws stick figures is an artist.

If I were a WRITER, I'd think it would come as naturally as breathing.

 

[oneagainst]

I think art in general suffers from too much mysticism--the mythic, romantic, heroic concept of the "artist" as being something different and apart from other mere mortals. I don't think Shakespeare thought of himself this way, and he was the greatest dramatist/poet in English history. He thought of himself as a craftsman trying to write good plays and poems that audiences would appreciate. Charles Dickens was the same way. So was Mark Twain. Do what you do, do it the best you can, and don't worry what label is appropriate to describe what you are doing.

I always thought there's a distinction between authors (@TxRad : "When my first royalty check hit the bank.") and then writers (@djrip : "But I knew I'd arrived when I got this comment: "Oh fuck, I'm wet."") - down to whether you are capable of making a living at it, sort of like the contestants always being referred to as 'cooks' not 'chefs' in MasterChef. Not because it's the money that matters, but because the money is a proxy for generalised vindication of your skills: the most truthful literary comment is whether someone will part with a dollar to read you.

Maybe in a hundred years, English Lit undergrads will be taking a module on the origination of Sex Fiction and picking through our stories, who knows? That would also make us writers, right? But, I think the only objective measure of whether you are or not is whether you have the courage to head off and explore the unknown. I'm going to try it and see.

 

[EmilyMiller]

If I were a WRITER, I'd think it would come as naturally as breathing.

I used to think that about Nobel Laureates (I know a few, one intimately). But then I realized they weren’t more gifted, they weren’t more insightful, they weren’t geniuses. What they all had was total perseverance. They worked and they worked and they worked. They struggled and made mistakes and had setbacks. But they never stopped. And it eventually it paid off. Now hard work does not guarantee success, but a lack of hard work guarantees failure.

Em

 

[SamScribble]

A few days ago, I was going through an old box file. In with some hand-written notes for stories and articles, there were a couple of brief letters. One was from the editor of a short story magazine, the other was from the music editor of a newspaper.

The magazine editor’s letter was informing me that they wished to buy the story I had submitted. The magazine would pay me four pounds and ten shillings. (I remember it being a serious chunk of change at the time.) The editor also told me that he, personally, enjoyed the story very much.

The newspaper editor’s note was to inform me that they wanted to buy an essay I had submitted on West Coast Jazz. The editor said that he wasn’t entirely sure that he agreed with what I had said, but the piece was very well written.

Both letters were dated July 1960.

Up until that point, I had considered studying engineering. Those two letters changed my mind. For the past 62 years I have paid the grocer and the wine merchant with the proceeds of my pen.

 

[Euphony]

If I were a WRITER, I'd think it would come as naturally as breathing.

Bird by Bird: Anne Lamont

Artist Way: Julia Cameron

On Writing: Steven King

All incredibly accomplished writers and their tomes on their writerly struggles and how their "breathing" is far more labored than most give them credit for doing laborious work to get to page.

 

[Euphony]

Now hard work does not guarantee success, but a lack of hard work guarantees failure.

That's it boiled down to its essence.

 

[djrip]

For the past 62 years I have paid the grocer and the wine merchant with the proceeds of my pen.

Sounds nice.

 

[Djmac1031]

When I was I kid, I would sit all day and try to draw comic book characters.

To be more accurate, what I actually did was attempt to recreate, in every line, every detail, an image from a comic book.

I'd spend hours attempting to recreate something the original artist probably spent minutes on.

It didn't take me long to realize that, while it was fun, educational even, I had no true, NATURAL talent for it.

I feel the same about my writing.

Have I written stories? Yes. And, unlike my attempts at art, my stories are at least ORIGINAL. Or at least original interpretations of classic themes.

Are they any good? Unlike my attempts at original ART, I'd like to think they are.

And hell, unlike Mom, who would smile and nod and say "that's nice, dear" when I showed her my finished "art," I've actually gotten honest praise from people I don't even know and are under no obligation to be nice to me!

That said, I am fully aware of my limitations and flaws as a writer, just as i was with my "art."

Can I improve? Learn? Grow?

Absolutely. And I'm enjoying that process.

But I also understand this: it will never be as EASY for me as it is to someone for whom it comes naturally.

And I'm okay with that, too.

 

[EmilyMiller]

But I also understand this: it will never be as EASY for me as it is to someone for whom it comes naturally.

Such people don’t exist, hun.

Of course there are different levels of unpracticed ability, but beyond that I think a lot is how much you want it. Again that hunger is necessary, but not sufficient.

Em

 

[TheRedChamber]

For the past 62 years I have paid the grocer and the wine merchant with the proceeds of my pen...is

Sounds nice.

Sounds like the opening line to my next Mature story.

 

[alohadave]

If I were a WRITER, I'd think it would come as naturally as breathing.

By all accounts, that day never comes for many writers.