Writer versus Author

Confession: I paid $13.25 to watch You Don't Mess with the Zohan this evening. I'm so ashamed.

Reading:

• The Van, by Roddy Doyle

Writing:

• "Ferian Fetlock Cures a Horse"

Revising:

• "Dolly Hobbles"

I think I've finally realized why I've managed to keep this blog going for three weeks. You may laugh, but this is my 25th entry, and that's longer than I've ever managed to keep something like this going. That's right, none of the "Radioactive Duck"s lasted this long.

This blog is my way of reminding myself I'm a writer. I start every entry by forcing myself to say something clever or unexpected in my confession. They're true, every one of them, but that's part of what makes it interesting. (I believe it's the restrictions in writing that inspire creativity... but that's another post.)

Next, I list out my current projects. Part of my job as a writer is to read, and to think critically about what I read. There should never be a point at which there is not some sort of book on my plate. All too often, I get caught up in the minutiae of life and set a book aside. When I finally remember it again, I'm out of the flow, but don't feel like starting over. And so it is abandoned. But this way, I list every day the book I'm reading, and if I don't finish, I don't forget.

After that comes my actual writing projects. The same thing holds here: how can I set a story aside when I don't allow myself to take it off the list until I'm done with it? That's not to say I can only work on "Ferian" and "Dolly" right now, but they don't get off the list until I'm done with them. That's a constant reminder that at any moment, I can either write or revise. Or read.

There's one last part. Did you spot it? It's hiding in plain sight. That is the blog post itself. I'm afraid that one day I'll run out of topics, but is that possible? Not while there are books I haven't read, at least, because I can always comment on what I'm reading if I can't think of anything else. Just tackling a theme on the topic of writing forces me to think about that theme, and to develop in a ways that I might not otherwise pursue.

All of that comes down to this: I am forging my identity as a writer so that I can have a career as an author. To me, the difference comes down to one of professionalism. I don't make a living as a writer, so I am not yet an author. I hope to become one someday, even someday soon. But I must first think of myself as a writer primarily, not as my day job.