Ten More Ways to Know You're a Writer

by Patricia Wiles

(Lori's post is so true for us! I couldn't resist sharing a few of my own quirks.)

10. You dream in stories, and when you wake up (even if it's the middle of the night) you grab something -- anything -- to write the dream down, because if you don't you'll forget it.

9. You have rituals you must perform or objects you must have on your desk in order to write. (I have my "Remember Who You Are" token from Terrie hanging on my desk at work, and I start my day with a soda and a bag of pretzels.)

8. Your friends are either imaginary (because they're in your mind) or invisible (because they're on the internet).

7. You may not recall the terminology used to describe proper grammar when writing, but find you know as if by instinct when something "sounds" right -- or when it doesn't.

6. You become so focused when working on a project you forget to do important things like eat lunch, feed the cat, blow out the candles you lit for ambiance, remove the laundry that's in the dryer ...

5. When you get a rejection letter, you cry. You swear never to send your story out again. You decide to pack up all your writing books. Then, a couple of days later, you realize if you just tweaked a couple of elements in your submission ... and before you know it, you're stamping another SASE.

4. You spoil movies and TV for your non-writer friends. When a character gets a book published and it goes on the market right away, you laugh and say, "That's so fake. That's not the way it is AT ALL." Then you proceed to tell them all about the submission and rejection process. Like they even care.

3. You realize a good book is the result of a good relationship between the author and the editor.

2. You get excited when a new office supply store opens in town.

And, the number one way (at least for me)...

1. You clean out your closet and find you still have copies of The Writer you bought in 1996, and you realize that after all these years, you still haven't given up hope -- and you're still writing.