I relate to this so much. I had a full-time job with CBSSports.com for seven years and currently freelance for The Athletic, but because I write about fantasy sports, I don't consider these experiences as qualifying me to call myself a writer. Like you say, it feels like "stolen valor." I'm bumping up on 60, too, and sometimes it's really discouraging.
Way back in the deep, dark mists of the mid-‘80s, I had a creative writing professor who was gave his class these words ... “Writers write.” In his context he was somewhere between encouraging and challenging and demanding his students write daily because ... writers write. So, flipping that around, as others noted, if one writes, one is a writer.
You're a writer. You have your own unique voice, you're true to it, and you don't try to be something you're not. I admire your honesty and your openness. You are absolutely a writer, regardless of any and all other considerations. Writers write. Period. Some get paid for it, some don't, but that's not the measure of a writer.
Your questions and self-doubt mirror my own. When people ask me what I do, I struggle. Do I tell what I do for a paycheck, or what I do to pursue my dream...and not the dream where I'm naked in the middle of my office. No one needs to see that.
You're a gifted writer, and whether or not you're as rich as Stephen King or as poor as a church mouse, that's not the indication of whether or not you get to call yourself a "writer." You need no one's permission for that.
You're most definitely a writer. Keep up the good work. 🤗❤️
You're a writer. I went through something similar when I started running, oh so slowly, but running. I was a runner and woe to anyone that called me a jogger. You write, therefore you're a writer.
I have struggled with this myself. I called myself a "blogger" for many years because I hadn't gotten much in print, and it seemed like Big Britches to call myself a writer. I will say that if you asked me who Michele Catalano is, I'd say, "A writer." I think I learned who you are through reading an article you wrote for The Magazine (RIP). So. You know. A thing you wrote in a professional capacity.
I've struggled with many of the same self-doubts with regard to my writing, but friend, you're a marvelous writer.
I relate to this so much. I had a full-time job with CBSSports.com for seven years and currently freelance for The Athletic, but because I write about fantasy sports, I don't consider these experiences as qualifying me to call myself a writer. Like you say, it feels like "stolen valor." I'm bumping up on 60, too, and sometimes it's really discouraging.
Way back in the deep, dark mists of the mid-‘80s, I had a creative writing professor who was gave his class these words ... “Writers write.” In his context he was somewhere between encouraging and challenging and demanding his students write daily because ... writers write. So, flipping that around, as others noted, if one writes, one is a writer.
You're a writer. You have your own unique voice, you're true to it, and you don't try to be something you're not. I admire your honesty and your openness. You are absolutely a writer, regardless of any and all other considerations. Writers write. Period. Some get paid for it, some don't, but that's not the measure of a writer.
Your questions and self-doubt mirror my own. When people ask me what I do, I struggle. Do I tell what I do for a paycheck, or what I do to pursue my dream...and not the dream where I'm naked in the middle of my office. No one needs to see that.
You're a gifted writer, and whether or not you're as rich as Stephen King or as poor as a church mouse, that's not the indication of whether or not you get to call yourself a "writer." You need no one's permission for that.
You're most definitely a writer. Keep up the good work. 🤗❤️
You're a writer. I went through something similar when I started running, oh so slowly, but running. I was a runner and woe to anyone that called me a jogger. You write, therefore you're a writer.
I have struggled with this myself. I called myself a "blogger" for many years because I hadn't gotten much in print, and it seemed like Big Britches to call myself a writer. I will say that if you asked me who Michele Catalano is, I'd say, "A writer." I think I learned who you are through reading an article you wrote for The Magazine (RIP). So. You know. A thing you wrote in a professional capacity.