Words on a page

"I write" vs. "I'm a writer"

A few of my friends have taken me to task about my contention that I'm not a writer but that I'm someone who writes. They don't see the distinction, and just think I'm messing with their minds. To me, at least, there is a distinction. It's kind of fuzzy, but it's there. I'll try to explain that briefly.

First off, I don't mean to say that many people who call themselves writers don't write. They do, and do a lot of writing. But I've also encountered people who call themselves "writers" who have written little or anything. Among their many claims, they say that they're waiting for inspiration or just haven't grasped that one great idea. Bull. People like that, in my opinion, have glorified and mystified writing. To them, the writing process is something almost magical. It isn't. Writing is just a lot of hard and often rewarding work.

On top of that, I guess I suffer from an inferiority complex. I see writers as being very talented people, putting out wonderful novels, short stories, non-fiction books, essays, and the like. Me, I don't think I'm even close to being half that good. To call myself a writer would be like calling a friend who drives quickly a racer.

So, I write. Maybe one day, I'll be good enough to call myself a writer. But until then, writing will be enough for me.