What a Writer Is

We writers get a lot of commentary and advice on what a writer is or should be. Some say a writer is someone who has been published. Others say a writer is someone who has works in progress - in other words, specific projects in the hopper that are targeted toward some publishing target. Others would say a writer is one who has a platform, an Internet and social media presence and following. Still others would say a writer is someone who produces work in a certain genre or who fills a specific, defined niche in the literary world. And there are always those who declare that only those who make their living at writing can dare call themselves writers. The truth is, a writer is all and none of that. Emily Dickinson wrote in obscurity her whole life, unpublished, unrecognized, completely unknown to the outside world; yet, who today would say she was not a writer? Certainly all of the entities of publication, platform, genre and income are important to a writer's success, but none of them make someone a writer. Simply put, a writer is someone whose primary personal expression is through the medium of writing. That's it. An unpublished writer is no less a writer than a published one. The two just have different ways of accomplishing their expression. The unpublished writer may write solely for the personal satisfaction of it and the published writer may write primarily for the connection with readers. Each is equally valid and valuable. Don't let someone tell you how and what you should do to be a writer. Write from your own perspective for your own reasons. If your writing gets shared with the larger world, great. If it just enriches your own inner life, that's great too. The important thing is that you're doing something you love to do because it moves you to do it, and there is no better way to spend your precious time and energy on this earth.