What's in a name?
Imagine if you would, walking out onto a golf course where four businessmen are playing. You face them down and say, "You're not a golfer." They would say "We spent thousands of dollars on these clubs. We have membership at this country club so we can play. We've taken lessons for hundreds of dollars. We've spent countless hours putting and hitting the ball. What do you mean we're not golfers?" "You're not ranked as by the PGA as a member, so you're not a golfer."
But you'd be wrong.
Imagine if you would, stopping at a local high school. There's a football team out on the field, practicing for the next big game. You stop them and say "You're not football players." They would say, "We've been doing this since we were in middle school. We spend hundreds of hours practicing. We work out until we hurt and in games we bleed and are bruised and play hard to win. We hope to get scholarships into college doing it. We dream of making the NFL. What do you meant we're not football players?" "You don't play for the NFL yet, so you're not a football player."
But you'd be wrong.
Imagine if you would, finding a bunch of grandmothers sitting around a quilt, working jointly on finishing off the piece. You stop them and say "You're not quilters." They would say, "We've been quilting for years. We've spent thousands of dollars on sewing machines, on tools, on fabric and on patterns. We spend countless hours laboring over our quilts. We've made quilts for all our family members. We give them as gifts at weddings and baby showers. What do you mean we're not quilters?" "You've never had your art hung in a museum or sold for thousands of dollars, so you're not a quilter."
And of course, you'd be wrong.
Writers buy computers, writing software, pens and paper. They read countless books on writing. They take hours out of their life to practice their art.
Writers are writers because they write. Not because they finish. Not because they've sold.
To say other would be wrong.
But you'd be wrong.
Imagine if you would, stopping at a local high school. There's a football team out on the field, practicing for the next big game. You stop them and say "You're not football players." They would say, "We've been doing this since we were in middle school. We spend hundreds of hours practicing. We work out until we hurt and in games we bleed and are bruised and play hard to win. We hope to get scholarships into college doing it. We dream of making the NFL. What do you meant we're not football players?" "You don't play for the NFL yet, so you're not a football player."
But you'd be wrong.
Imagine if you would, finding a bunch of grandmothers sitting around a quilt, working jointly on finishing off the piece. You stop them and say "You're not quilters." They would say, "We've been quilting for years. We've spent thousands of dollars on sewing machines, on tools, on fabric and on patterns. We spend countless hours laboring over our quilts. We've made quilts for all our family members. We give them as gifts at weddings and baby showers. What do you mean we're not quilters?" "You've never had your art hung in a museum or sold for thousands of dollars, so you're not a quilter."
And of course, you'd be wrong.
Writers buy computers, writing software, pens and paper. They read countless books on writing. They take hours out of their life to practice their art.
Writers are writers because they write. Not because they finish. Not because they've sold.
To say other would be wrong.