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Being a writer is like...
Jun. 17th, 2012 10:39 pmSo a dude walks into a bar and observes an older man, with a full beard, plaid short-sleeved shirt, and suspenders, weeping over his drink. This dude being a compassionate sort of dude and also one nosy so-and-so, walks over and asks the guy what's wrong and can he help.
The older guy just shakes his head. He says: "I built an entire accounting system on bare metal, but do people call me Dave the Programmer? No. I taught an entire generation of students C and C++, but do they call me Dave the Teacher? No. I helped hundreds of clients fix their systems and only charged them $200/hour, but do they call me Dave the consultant? No!" He pauses again, then bursts out: "But you fuck one goat -- !"
Writing is also a thing that doesn't take well to being put into the past. You write one book, and even if you never manage to finish another, you're still a writer. It's not a thing that undoes itself when you're not looking. Sure, between one thing and another, you might get out of an active writing habit, but having written something is still a major life event that nothing can erase. Lots of writers do write every day, or at least regularly, especially professional ones, but that's not an actual requirement for being a writer. It's just a very strong recommendation.
If you have in the past written things, you are still worthy of being called a writer.
It's much better than having fucked a goat.
The older guy just shakes his head. He says: "I built an entire accounting system on bare metal, but do people call me Dave the Programmer? No. I taught an entire generation of students C and C++, but do they call me Dave the Teacher? No. I helped hundreds of clients fix their systems and only charged them $200/hour, but do they call me Dave the consultant? No!" He pauses again, then bursts out: "But you fuck one goat -- !"
Writing is also a thing that doesn't take well to being put into the past. You write one book, and even if you never manage to finish another, you're still a writer. It's not a thing that undoes itself when you're not looking. Sure, between one thing and another, you might get out of an active writing habit, but having written something is still a major life event that nothing can erase. Lots of writers do write every day, or at least regularly, especially professional ones, but that's not an actual requirement for being a writer. It's just a very strong recommendation.
If you have in the past written things, you are still worthy of being called a writer.
It's much better than having fucked a goat.
