Five Ways to Identify as a Writer

It took me a lifetime; you can do it in less.

It’s been 2 years since I decided to write full-time instead of working for someone else. I have looked back and can think of times I may have been happier, but I’ve never felt more like this is who and where I’m meant to be.

That’s enough proof for me to stay here, as I am, who I am.

Would I have made that decision at that time if fate had not interfered with the ordinary life I was leading?

Perhaps, but it’s impossible to prove.

Do circumstances have to be just right to become the only person you trulyrecognize as yourself?

No!

You still might think so, but for many people, the time never seems right. And if that is you, you will have wasted a lifetime of second-guessing yourself and waiting for validation from others.

Here are five signs from my own life that you may be better off accepting your writer self now rather than later.

1. You feel happiest while writing a beautiful sentence (or immediately afterward)

It’s no secret that writing can be challenging.

You set a goal for yourself of how many words you should write in one day. You fall short of that.

You have an idea for that next chapter, but it’s not manifesting itself in the way you intended. You are working on some story, article, or book, and all thought disappears from your mind.

There seems to be no way forward.

There are many more circumstances leading up to any writer’s triumph that I can share. But we all have them.

Then there are those moments when you do capture the essence of a person, event, feeling, or place in words so stunning, even to you, that you know it is all worth it.

2. You look at a photograph from your past and start composing a paragraph about it in your head

Writers strive to explain the world.

Sometimes that is your world and what might have happened in it during a certain time in your life. You don’t have to be well-known or have accomplished anything that anyone else would consider remarkable.

But you look at that image, and it resurrects a moment in time. You want to honor that moment or exorcise it in a language that is unique to you. You want to save that experience with your voice.

3. One of your several superpowers is active listening

This is not solely a skill for journalists or documentary filmmakers. Anyone who writes should know how to listen.

To fulfill your role in explaining events in the world or within yourself, you need to stop talking, stop writing, and just listen.

Listen to the nuances of what people are saying to you. Listen for a beautiful phrase and capture that. Listen to your heart.

Then ask questions. Dive deeper and learn more about your subject, or yourself.

One of the only ways to get to the truth is to listen for it. It may not always be what you want to hear. And sometimes the truth you are trying to avoid is written in your own words.

The best listeners become the strongest writers, in part because they are truth seekers.

4. You think about your readers before writing, while writing, and afterward

This doesn’t mean that you are only thinking about them, but without an audience, you are not a writer.

When you are devising a clever hook, are you doing this for yourself or the reader? When you review a paragraph that took you two hours to write, and you revise it for further clarity, or adjust the tone, who is that for?

Your ego can forgive more excuses for good writing than a reader will.

So, don’t leave your readers on the front doorstep. Invite them into your process. You will be in good company.

5. You connect the dots of your life story, and they add up to your ability to document, critique, listen, and explain.

At 20 years old, I knew what I wanted to do, but not exactly who I was. I’ve always known that I wanted to write, but it took me decades to identify as that person.

It took me decades to realize that the career path and the many jobs I had as part of that trajectory were related.

I became a teacher early on in my journey. In that role, I used my writing skills to develop curriculum, prepare lessons, and present at conferences. Listening and explaining were vital to working with students and to their progress.

This relationship between the writer I am today and the writer I was becoming continued in each of the jobs I had after I left teaching. I wrote proposals, operations analyses, website copy, design documentation, and much more.

But it’s only recently, since deciding to write full-time, that I understood how I succeeded in each of those roles because of my writing skills. More than anything, I realize how much of a better writer I am today for having played those roles.

You may not recognize yourself yet

When I used to travel on business, I always tried to enjoy the area’s unique scenery. I did this standing along the shores of Lake Champlain, strolling the beaches of Miami, Santa Monica, and San Diego; and sailing with colleagues along the shores of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

I sometimes felt so lucky that it seemed as if I was cheating. And maybe I was because the photos and memories from those experiences have become part of the Memory Vault, the repository of memories I use for drafting mini-memoirs and other pieces.

The feelings I had back then were helping to build this life, the writing life. It still feels like I’m cheating. It’s a risk. I do want to get caught!

At 20 years old, I knew what I wanted to do, but not exactly who I was. I’ve always known that I wanted to write, but it took me decades to identify as that person.

I had to travel a long distance to recognize myself playing this role. And I’m okay with that.

But you don’t have to go quite so far if you can step back, listen to yourself, and recognize yourself for the writer you may already be.

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I drafted this article using three notes I posted earlier this week as part of The Bite-Sized Storytelling Boost’s Notes to Post series.