What Makes a Writer: The Verdict

About a month ago, I posed the question: "What Makes a Writer?" and you readers have spoken. The post generated a number of interesting comments, and I have since gone through and tried to summarize your thoughts on the subject. According to all of you, a writer is someone who . . .

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1. Writes regularly -- A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a writer friend of mine who said that he thinks productivity is overemphasized. "You don't have to kill yourself--a paragraph a day is more than enough." While I respect my friend's right to his opinion, I don't agree. If a paragraph is--let's say--100 words. Then at that rate you're only writing 36,500 words over the course of the year (assuming you don't miss any days). That's 146 pages or just over 12 pages a month. For a professional prose writer, that's not much. Contrast it to what my students were able to get down in 16 weeks, and it just doesn't seem that impressive.

As such, I agree with you entirely, Dear Readers. A writer needs to write--frequently, regularly, purposefully, and productively.

2. Revises -- Keeping with the very old-school discipline model, one of the common points that came up in your responses is this idea that a writer should be someone who not only understands and accepts the need to revise, but embraces it. It's no secret that many beginning writers (and some seasoned vets) roll their eyes at the thought of rewriting their early drafts. It's not a mentality I understand--to me, revision is fun. It's the point where all the anxieties (where is this going? What is it about? Will I be able to finish) are behind you and you can actually start writing for real. 

Since I've never written anything worth reading in one draft, I side with you Readers completely on this one.

3. Engages in the larger community of writers -- The need for investment in the world of Arts and Letters often gets overlooked by would-be writers. I can't emphasize enough how big a mistake that is, and so I was glad to see a number of you bringing up the need for involvement in the work that others are doing. In the most basic sense, this means reading. If you don't read your contemporaries, don't bother trying to write. It's not only a matter of studying craft--you learn to write by seeing how others solve their problems on the page, learn how to push your boundaries by competing in healthy ways with your peers. It's also a matter of market research--don't know what the rest of the writing world is up to? Then don't expect an agent or publisher to take an interest in your work.

Reading and being a part of reading groups is only one way that writers engage with the bigger community, however. Many writers are also book reviewers, podcasters, bloggers, teachers, journal editors, and the cruise directors of some very interesting literary projects and reading series. Or they are patrons of these sorts of activities. Why? Because they love writing and they understand that an investment in the art will come back to them in good ways.

Beyond these first three points, things start to get a little less "essential." That is to say, if you write and read a lot, invest yourself in the world of writing, and aren't afraid to take your own work apart from draft to draft, then everything else will pretty much figure itself out. That said, the following points are worth considering. A writer may also benefit from being someone who . . . .

4. Loves language -- If you don't appreciate words for their ability to communicate a story, shape a world, depict a character's humanness, and express the inexpressible, then you may find it difficult to be successful as a writer. Writers are, by nature, picky about language. They care not only about its ability to convey meaning but also the way it sounds and moves on the page. It is, in other words, sacred.

5. Observes keenly -- Writers generally notice the things that other people sometimes take for granted--the waitresses missing earring, the way the gas station attendant keeps checking his pink Minnie Mouse watch--and they ask the questions what's going on here and why? That's where stories and poems are born, from the imagined answers to such wonderings.

The good news is that you don't have to do anything to become more observant of the world around you--if you invest yourself properly in writing, it should happen on its own.

Finally, there are a few controversial answers that came up, those who would argue that a writer is someone who . . .

6. Wants to share -- I happen to agree with this. While it is true that not everything you write is intended for a public audience, the truth of the matter is that the best writing is usually a desperate act of communication. Those young writers who are accustomed to saying, "It doesn't matter--I wrote it for myself" usually don't go very far. Most writers I know want to be read and they feel that their work has valuable that extends beyond their own ego-stroking.

7. Creates work of a certain quality -- This is almost impossible to define. It's like Poe saying a short story is a piece of a "certain length." What does that mean? I don't know. I do know this, though: there are standards. And those standards do not exist only in your head. Who gets to set the standards? It's a question we could argue about forever. In the end, it's not that important because if you work hard to take care of those first three points I mentioned above--your work will eventually meet whatever quality it needs to meet. I don't believe much in talent--it's cheap.

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So that's the verdict--set by you, The Readers, and pondered here by me. Let me say thank you, again, to all of you who wrote in and left comments on my previous entry. Feel free to share your thoughts below (especially if you think I got it wrong). And, of course, good luck with your writing!