In my not so humble opinion, you either are a person who writes: a writer or you are a person who doesn’t write: not a writer. It is as simple as that. If you write, you are a writer. Period. End of story. Aspiring is a word that romanticizes those who don’t write. And those who beg to differ can take their asshole opinion somewhere else.

It’s no wonder I struggle to make friends…

Do you aspire to pick up the pizza you dropped on the floor? No, you don’t. You either choose to pick it up or you don’t. You either write or you don’t. There is no in between. You can’t be kind of pregnant. You either are or you are not.

But Miranda how is pregnancy even remotely like writing?

It just is. Okay.

Now, there’s nothing to say you can’t aspire to become published, or award-winning, or get a job as a paid writer, or even aspire to finish your novel in the first place. Everyone wants to be a writer. Everyone thinks it’s this grand thing but at the end of the day, you still either write or you don’t. You are or are not. Still, don’t believe me? Let’s go to the dictionary. The term aspiring means to long, aim, or seek. The term writer means a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories, etc. So an aspiring writer is someone who longs to write books, articles, stories, etc. but doesn’t.

Now that we have that cleared up. Let’s talk about being an asshole a little more. You know what a real asshole move is? To tell a writer (see above) that they are not a writer because they don’t fit into whatever box you’ve created and labeled for them. They don’t make your qualification list in some compacity. When the only qualification of being a writer is whether or not the person actually writes. So here is a quick chart I’ve found online.

It’s a simple one to follow, I promise. Two questions and you’ll have your answer. This applies to all people, without exception. Make sure to show the assholes in your life this handy dandy flowchart. It should clear up any confusion on their part.
If it doesn’t send them my way. I’d be happy to hash out whether or not you’re a “REAL” writer with them personally.

Not that it’s a hot point or anything… *Looks around to see if she’s scared away her remaining friends* Doesn’t matter, I stand up for what I believe in and this is one of those things.

Unfortunately, I can promise if you are a writer, it’s not going to be easy. But you have a friend in me and I will continue to be extremely real with you. Writing is not easy. In fact, it’s painful at times. Heartbreaking, dare I say it has soul-crushing moments. 

Rejection is part of the process. Start growing your dragon scales now, you’re going to need thick skin. There’s going to be a lot of rejection in your future if you want to become published. But also, there are some really cool moments and they make all the dragon scales you’ve earned shimmer. So keep at it. Because we need you in this world. We need people who are passionate. We need people who care so much about something that they spend their free moments between work and family and friends, plugging away into the void where dreams are made. It’s not easy, but I think it’s worth it.

I am a writer.