What is a writer?

Many people have trouble writing an interesting story, because they don't really understand what a writer is, or what they do.

Writers are many things to many people. Writers are teachers/tour guides/entertainers/artists. Writers teach people things they didn't know before, show them places they've never seen, entertain them with funny, exciting, adventurous, and even scary stories. Above all, a writer is an artist.

When people hear the word "art", they automatically think about paintings, sculptures, and photographs. Most people don't realize that writing is also an art.

Art is anything that is meant to show viewers something from the artist's perspective and is often intended to elicit a particular emotional response.

Writers have a distinct advantage over other artists. A blank page is our canvas and words are our paints. We can use colorful words and vivid descriptions to show our readers many different things and to elicit a wide range of emotional responses. Rather than leaving our readers sitting in a comfy chair reading black type on white pages, we can use our "artistic talent" to draw the readers into the story and make them feel as though they are part of it.

While other "artists" can show people a plate of food, we cannot only let them see it, we can make them smell it, taste it, feel the texture of it, and even hear it.

Now, you have two choices:

You can look at a picture of your breakfast.

You see an ordinary white plate. There are two eggs on it, but you can't quite tell if they're over hard, over easy, or sunny-side up. There are three strips of bacon alongside the eggs, but you can't tell if it's salty, sweet, or spicy. There are two slices of toast with something red on them. Could be jam, or jelly, but no way to tell what flavor. There is a cup of brown liquid beside the plate. You assume it's coffee, but it could be tea, or even hot chocolate.

Or, you can listen to the sizzle as the ice-cold bacon hits the hot frying pan. You inhale the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee and enjoy the sweet fruity taste of fresh strawberry jelly on your hot, thickly buttered toast, and feel the soft, satiny smooth texture of the first bite of egg as it slides across your tongue and a couple drops of thick, rich, yolk dribble down your chin. Your taste buds tingle and your mouth waters as you bite into the crisp, maple flavored bacon. You contentedly sip your coffee and enjoy the taste of the thick, heavy cream and sweet sugar.

While other artists use canvas, marble, clay, or even film to show what they want others to see, we use words to paint our pictures. We slave arduously to find the right words to mould our characters, and shape our scenes, until we create an entire environment for our readers to travel through along with our characters.

Our main goal is to have our readers experience everything our characters experience.

A writer can perform magic with words. When we write a story we usually do it in the hopes of entertaining our readers, but there can be much more to it than entertainment value alone.

Often, readers learn things from our stories. Sometimes our readers may find themselves in a situation similar to one of our characters, and by reading our story they may find the solution to their own situation.

Also, the locations we use in our stories often allow our readers to see places they have never been. Many people would love to travel and have exciting adventures, but most never have the opportunity, for various reasons. Reading our stories allows them to experience the thrills of climbing the icy slopes of Mt. Everest, exploring the pyramids of Egypt, or big game hunting in Africa. We can help them travel around the world and out into the universe without ever leaving home.

Next time you sit down to write a story, stop and think first. Where do you want to take your readers this time? What do you want to show them, tell them, or teach them?

Stories don't have to be set in exotic locations. Stories about your hometown can be very entertaining and informative to someone who has never been there, and quite often to people who have lived there all their lives. No one ever knows everything there is to know about where they live.

Next time someone asks you what you do, don't look down at the ground and meekly say, "I'm a writer." Hold your head up. Look them straight in the eye, and declare proudly, "I'M A WRITER!" After all, you know that being a writer involves much more than just scribbling a bunch of words on a sheet of paper. You know that because of your stories you are many different things to many different people.

So keep your head up, keep your spirits up, and keep writing!

Eight Steps to Becoming a Writer

When you read something interesting – write it down.

When you hear something interesting – write it down.

When you get an idea – write it down.

When you see something interesting – write it down.

When you feel something interesting —write it down.

When you smell something interesting —write it down.

When you taste something interesting —write it down.

When you experience something interesting --write it down.

When you put all these things together, add to them, and write it down, you will be a writer.