Ah! The life a writer is fraught with sleepless nights, scattered bits of ripped up paper, and unclean coffee mugs littering your writer’s station. No matter where you go, you are never far from something to write with and something to write on.
Writing, like most art, is a passion. It’s not something you do, it’s something that comes out of you, whether you want it to or not. You live your art, in this case, writing. The written word is your passion and using it the best way you can is your life.
Some people are just born differently than others, and for artists and writers this couldn’t be a truer sentiment. Here are 15 obvious signs you’re a writer.
1. You love reading
Good writers are avid readers. Your love of reading fuels the love of writing. Your favourite authors are inspiring for your writing, and they are a good source to learn from.
2. You hoard words
A quote grabs your attention, so you jot it down. Didn’t like the wording in that sentence? You take it and rewrite it until you love it. Words are your playthings, and you will keep what you love to hand on any scrap paper your can find.. even resorting to lipstick on your bathroom mirror.
3. Imagination is your superpower
Your mind wanders deeply into your many fantasy worlds and your writing comes to life on the page because of your powerful imaginative ideas. People may accuse you of not paying attention and while on the surface, which may be, the truth is that you are thinking deeply about your world in your head.
4. Why say it when you can write it?
Writers love writing, so they prefer to write what they mean rather than say it. We may not be great at face-to-face confrontation, but we are good using words like weapons in a scathing, yet polite email.
Any cards you send don’t just have the occasion written on them, there is at least a poem, or heartfelt message inside.
5. You have a flair for recognising good writing
“A good writer, even when not sure about their own talent, has a great eye for noticing someone else’s good writing” says Donald Howard, an arts blogger at Do my paper. Sometimes, the way something someone else has written a paragraph catches your eye and you smile because of how great it is.
6. You observe other people and make up stories about them
A writer will people watch, silently observing his or her surroundings and write about them. They notice their next door neighbour’s dog barking viciously at someone walking by and they begin to write about the why the dog is barking, creating a little fictional tale. It serves as a great writing exercise.
7. Journals are your favourite thing, and you have many
Sometime all you do is stare at a blank computer screen, and you have to go old school. Enter the journal. A good writer has many, many of these, all over the place, mostly blank and will happily buy more just to be safe, because when inspiration strikes, a writer doesn’t want to lose their great idea.
8. Writing is your therapy
Your boss mean to you at work? You write about it. Your wife ran off with another man? You write about it. Won an award? You guessed it-you write about it. Writing acts as your therapy, and it’s free.
9. You are naturally curious about your surroundings
If something isn’t quite right in your immediate area, as a writer you will notice and the urge to create a story will hit you. You are one of those people where curiosity combines neatly with creative writing.
10. You treasure people who compliment your writing
Nothing is better than getting complimented on your “excellent writing skills.” When people recognise you for your talent, it’s never really forgotten, and that person remains dear to you forever.
11. You always strive to be better
A good writer, like a good artist, never feels their work is ever genuinely good enough. You can always improve your character writing, your prose, your grammar, or how you end your stories. A good writer always wants to be better than they were yesterday.
12. Blank pages are full of possibilities
For most people, blank pages are terrifying. For people who are just starting to write, blank pages are panic inducing. For a writer who has been at it for a while, blank pages are full of endless possibilities and the chance to create a new piece of writing.
13. Post-it notes are stuck to everything you own because you suddenly got an idea
Sometimes, a writer gets inspired, and they don’t have time to write it down fully in their many journals. Enter post-it notes, both paper and digital. You can quickly note it down and stick it to virtually any surface. Your idea never gets lost or forgotten and can be transferred or discarded later.
14. You sleep with a pen and a notebook near your bed
Writers eat, sleep, and breathe their craft. Sometimes inspiration hits at 3AM and that is why they keep a journal and a pen on the bedside table. Writers can’t afford to lose their next great idea, or they may never get it again. It’s especially important to be able to jot it down there and then.
15. Procrastination is your second love
Whether writers have bad time management, struggle with writer’s block, or just are a bit of an adrenaline junkie and need the pressure of looming deadlines to push them to complete their writing tasks, writers are absolute experts in procrastination. They know exactly how much time they can waste before they must start their writing task.
These are the 15 common signs that identify you as a writer to everyone around you.
Sara Sparrow is a writer and editor, who writes about lifestyle and tech trends.
