Comments on: Afraid to Call Yourself a Writer? (Me Too)

By: LS

LS — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:57:57 +0000

This is quite an interesting read. I have a journalism degree and have been making a living as a writer for the last three years, but I almost never call myself a writer. When people ask, I *might* qualify it by saying that I’m a copywriter, but I often just say that I work online, that I do PR or that I work in marketing. What is the big deal about saying that I’m a writer? I have no idea. It sounds lofty, I guess, and I don’t feel lofty.
LS´s last blog ..Low Doesn’t Even Describe It

By: zeta_thompson

zeta_thompson — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 08:47:16 +0000

Nice post. I have been paid for both writing and editing. If someone asks me I say I have been an editor, not that I have been a writer. It just seems a bit too much like bragging or maybe I am just embarassed by my publications. zeta_thompsons last blog post..The difference between Doze and Nix Users

By: Sealing Wax and Cabbages, and Why a Recession Might Be the Best Thing for America

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:46:40 +0000

[...] wanted to thank all you nice people who commented on my Afraid to Call Yourself a Writer? post. I was hoping to share the great news that I’d won the $250 prize for most pageviews. [...]

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:15:57 +0000

Jane – I’ve been lurking on your blog for a few months now, and I love your writing style. I wonder why it’s so scary to call yourself a writer. I’ve been writing for decades, I teach kids how to write, and I still hesitate. But I keep on writing. Thanks for sharing your talent!

Sarahs last blog post..I haven’t done one of these in a while!

By: Jane @ What About Mom

Jane @ What About Mom — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:21:44 +0000

Andrea — Tom fudges his hours in favor of the client on every single freelance project he does, and it drives me crazy! I wonder how many writers (or writing people at the time) do this sort of thing in the desire to appear more “competent” than they are.

Knowing that both you and Tom have perfectionist tendencies, I’m sure your employer was as happy with the finished product as Tom’s clients usually are. But I wonder how widespread this sort of underreporting is.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:08:36 +0000

I was thankful that when I was done with school that my degree came with a built in job title (pharmacist). I would have been uncomfortable as someone with a degree, but needing to find a job to find out what I would be. Once, when I was having a crisis of career, I worked for a few months writing policies, procedures and protocols for a healthcare company. I don’t think I was very good at it. I was definitely not very fast at it. I got paid by the hour and used to fudge my hours (in my employer’s favor) so they would not know it took me as long as it did to write each document.

By: Jane @ What About Mom

Jane @ What About Mom — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:09:59 +0000

Danielle — I almost can’t make up my mind which is the better (more authentic, more real) writing — that done for an audience (because then you consider both sides more maybe?) or that done for oneself. Thoughts?

Jeanne — Definitely! It’s like the adage to pray until you feel like praying, only Write until you MUST WRITE. And yes, fascinating!

Jane @ What About Moms last blog post..Did You Hear the One About the Sworn Virgins in Albania?

By: Jeanne Dininni

Jeanne Dininni — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:02:01 +0000

Jane,

That inner voice can indeed be ignored, and I think most of us have at one time or another found ourselves wondering where we’d ever find the creative spark we need to accomplish those literary gymnastics we call writing even one more time. Yet, even then that spark, though dormant, lies buried there just waiting to be revived by a thought, a feeling, an impression, or an inspiration which starts the whole magical process all over again — just as you’ve said.

I, too, have muffled that inner voice, ignoring my creative impulse for years, at times. But, I’ve always found that whenever I’ve done that I’ve experienced an undercurrent of discontent (or maybe “yearning” would be a better word) — sometimes barely perceptible and sometimes drowned out by life’s distractions, but really always there just waiting to surface again — until I’ve taken it upon myself to satisfy that yearning (or nurture that impulse) in the only way I could: by writing.

The creative impulse certainly is a mystery–but that’s what makes it so incredibly fascinating!

Jeanne

By: Danielle

Danielle — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:20:53 +0000

Jane-I’ll have to chew on your piece for awhile. I think everyone has a story to tell. Some tell it in a way that apeals to others. Either with an audience or without, writing has cathartic benefits. I’m glad to hear of your path and your guts to write and post about it!

By: Jane @ What About Mom

Jane @ What About Mom — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:04:00 +0000

Jeanne — I hear what you say, but surely, that inner voice can be muffled or nurtured, based on how or if we respond, right? Or does it have to be an un-ignorable impulse? Because sometimes I feel like I could never write again. Until I get another idea, anyway. (And sometimes years have passed between).

Brad — I think way too many people fall into the “someday I’ll write” category, me included. Kinda like “someday I’ll ____________” There are about a million things I could put there. Carpe diem, eh?

Jane @ What About Moms last blog post..The Finer Things in Life: Air-Conditioning, Leather Seats in the Minivan, Pediatric Dentistry