Wondering if You Are a Writer?
Give yourself one point for each of these that sound like you:
You love to read: Maybe you hide a flashlight under your bed so you can read under the covers, late at night. You probably tuck a book in your book bag, so you’re never without reading material. If without a book or magazine, you’ve been known to read ingredients on a can of food.
You love to write: You might write poetry or essays or stories. You might keep a journal. We each have our own types of reading and writing that we enjoy; whatever yours is, though, you love it!
You are curious. While other people might find a subject boring, you find yourself wondering “how” and “why,” along with countless other questions. Give yourself a bonus point if, after wondering something, you’ve researched and found the answer!
You are self-motivated and can work by yourself for stretches at a time. Although procrastinating is sometimes okay – after all, writers are human, too! – you’ve got a good handle on how to motivate yourself to work and you don’t rely on “inspiration” or your “muse” before you get started on a project.
You like to have pen and paper with you at all times. You jot down information and you might write down stories that you’ve heard and funny things that you’ve noticed. When you can’t type something on your computer or write something down, you feel at a loss. Maybe your fingers even itch!
You enjoy sharing what you’ve learning. Rather than just repeating stories, though, you might also relate it to another story. That’s because people, places and events often remind you of someone or something else. It’s even possible that, while something is happening in real life, you’re already creating a book, newspaper or magazine title for the event in your head.
You are a daydreamer. Perhaps that’s obvious to other people around you, but maybe not. You may be the kind of person who needs nudged by an elbow to return to the “real world.” Or, you may be able to juggle what’s going on inside your head with the daily routine around you without missing a beat.
You appreciate “alone time.” You might be shy — or you might be quite outgoing. In either case, it’s likely that you appreciate quiet time to read, to think, to wonder and to write down your thoughts. Writing things down can be relaxing to you, a release from the events of the day.
You volunteer your writing services. You might help write a newsletter for your school. Or you might help friends and family members with their writing.
You notice mistakes in writing. If you read something that doesn’t sound quite right, you find yourself “rewriting” that text in your head. When you drive by a billboard with a misplaced comma, you quickly notice the error.
You love to play with words. I’ve heard writers described as people with an excellent inner ear for the rhythm, sounds and meanings of words — and you probably enjoy reading words, thinking about words and writing words down. You probably find yourself playing around with what you’ve written, too, perhaps for clarity or perhaps for its rhythm and pleasing sound when read aloud.
Adapted from Kelly Boyer Sagert’s book, FabJob Guide to Become a Freelance Writer