How to Become a Writer

How do you become a writer? People used to ask me at this at parties when I identified myself as a writer.”

“By writing,” I would tell them. You become a writer by writing, by communicating something in writing: plays, novels, short stories, poetry, memoirs, political critiques, educational essays, How-to books, academic articles, shopping lists, notes to friends, and so on and so on.

Revising does not make you a writer. Editing your work does not make you a writer. Watching TV does not make you a writer. Reading does not make you a writer. All of these activities are associated with writing. Revising, for example. You first you have to put the words down on the page or in a text. I’m writing right now, though I’m editing and revising as I go. But they do not make you a writer.

A lot of people mean “author” when they say “writer.” They’re thinking of a published writer. How do you become an author? Well that’s a whole ‘nother thing, and fodder for several upcoming blog posts. A writer is not automatically an author, though it is the first step to being one.