When people ask us writers what we do, the response is usually, “I’m a writer.” We never say, “I write.” The distinction is important. The simple definition of a writer is, “one who writes”, so if you write blog posts or articles or stories or sales copy, that is more than enough to call yourself a writer. But I think for some of us, it is more than that.
When you say, “I’m a writer”, you are joining a group of people who tend to be obsessive about writing. People who thrive on writing. People who, when they aren’t writing feel somehow disconnected with life and reality.
It doesn’t take much to join that group. It’s not a secret group and it’s not at all mysterious or exclusive, but when you start to think of yourself as a writer, not writing is simply out of the question.
It’s the same, I suspect, with musicians and artists. There is a woman in my building who paints these wonderful canvases. Their apartment door is almost always open and it is obvious that the most prominent feature of their living room is her painting area, which looks very well lived in. She often brings her canvases outside to paint in the sun. I think for her, if she weren’t painting, she would feel only half a person.
And many musicians I know are always making music in one way or another, tapping out rhythms, picking imaginary guitars or playing imaginary pianos. For singers, music is almost constant. They don’t need to carry a grand piano around to hum a lilting ditty.
There is a moment in your life when you realize that is who you are. When other considerations simply fade away.
Is this all a romantic notion of what it means to be creative? Yes. Can it still be true? Yes.
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