ARE YOU A WRITER?

The definition of a writer:
WriterWrit"er\, n. [AS. wr[=i]tere.]
1. One who writes, or has written; a scribe; a clerk

I can't remember when I didn't write. I have so many journals and diaries it would take a strong, strong person to haul them off to the dump. With all my de-cluttering going on here at my house, that is where they might end up.

Thousands of words on paper, written over a life span of more than a half century. Still, I never called myself a writer until I had taken several writing classes and been assured by my mentor, Nancy Simpson, poet and teacher, that I am indeed a writer.

The definition of a writer is "one who writes or has written." I had been doing that most of my life. The definition does not say you have to be published in magazines. It doesn't say a writer is an author of a book. A writer is one who writes.

Now I know I have always been a writer. When I sat high in the chinaberry tree in the back yard with my pencil and spiral notebook writing stories about me on my black horse galloping over the pastures and through the woods, I was already a writer. My imagination took me where I couldn't physically go, and I felt impelled to write those scenes.

My sister, Gay, says she is not a writer, but she wrote letters from San Francisco with such feeling and imagery that I saw the fog drift out of the envelopes when I opened them.


writ·ing n.
1. The act of one who writes.
2. Written form: Put it in writing.
3. Handwriting; penmanship.
4. Something written, especially:
a. Meaningful letters or characters that constitute readable matter.
b. A written work, especially a literary composition.
5. The occupation or style of a writer.
Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006

Writing is the act of one who writes. Reading is the act of one who reads. I loved both reading and writing from a very early age. When my sister, June, read stories to me, and when my teachers read to the class, I listened and lost myself in the scenes and images made by the writer putting meaningful letters on a page.
Have you read books you enjoyed so much you hated to reach the last page? Having always been an insomniac, even as a child, I read in bed and, when the book ended, I'd turn off my light and continue the story in my mind. This was especially true if I had fallen in love with a character. I wanted to keep that person in my life, like a new friend I didn't want to let go.

Sharing through writing is a joy I hope I never loose. Are you a writer? Do you keep a journal or diary?
Do you keep a book, or several going all the time? Tell us what you write or what you like to read.