Don't just be a writer. Don’t worry, it’s ok to glance back at the title if you need to. Confusing? It’s supposed to be, and it’ll make sense later on.
Being good at writing is fantastic, and we must never let society leave a skill like that out to die on a Spartan hilltop. However, the unfortunate reality is that being good at writing is useless if you don’t have anything to write about. If you don’t actually know how to do something else or where you can watch someone do something else, it’s useless. Maybe that’s why your college advisor always pushed you to pick up a more practical minor in addition to your main ”aspirational” focus of “Creative Writing” or “Philosophy.” “Aspirational”—or whatever other pretty words they and everyone else politely threw in your face from the first moment that they found out you wanted to spend your life writing. Suicide, right? When was there ever a writer other than J.K. Rowling (God bless her) or E.L. James (damn her) that found notable success as a writer while they were still alive? How about that even made a comfortable way for themselves through writing while they were still alive?
They’ll never understand how you don’t do it to be comfortable, dammit. No one writes to be comfortable. If they do, they don’t last long.
Don't just be a writer. This is meant in two different ways. First, don’t try to only be a writer in your life. It’s a fantastic trade, but it’s one that is only honed by practice and actual living. You need to be out in the world to find things to inspire you, frustrate you, make you cry with piercing laughter and delicious anguish. Do this by finding work as other things. Be a cashier. Be a sales assistant, though only for a little bit, because how could someone not hate a job like that to some degree?
However, remember that you can pull an incredible amount of satirical writing out of one bad job in the summer before college. People know what bad jobs are like, and they’ll love how well you can describe that one time you backed into a customer in the middle of the checkout lanes with an open tray full of coins and had to dance like an idiot to keep anything from spilling. Put loving detail into how your mortified cheeks burned while the other cashiers laughed and pointed, but also mention how they clapped when you rolled with it and took a bow for your performance, blowing kisses to the crowd with your free hand. *Mwah* “Thank you! Thank you, I’ll be here all week!”
This is what being a successful writer is ultimately about—being a voice for people’s unspoken thoughts. Any number of people have already come up with the thoughts and feelings that you have—about anything. The difference between you and them is that you know just how to write it so that everyone can understand, nod their heads enthusiastically and tap a line on the page while exclaiming, “That’s it. That’s exactly it.” Remember that this is why you decided to write in the first place. As much as it may seem that choosing to write is a private, personal decision, that could not be further from the truth. Constantly remind yourself that writing is a public obligation.
It will definitely help if you find work that you actually like to do, because no matter what you do, there will come times when you just grow tired. There’ll come times when you just feel like shutting yourself away. This feeling will be even stronger if you don’t like your work. You’ll excuse this by saying you “just need time to focus on your writing.” What you don’t realize is that this will kill the “you” that writes. By all means, find the places where you write most effectively, but never pick one of them and lock yourself in there, or your writing will stagnate. Writing is exactly like every other creative craft in existence—it requires ceaseless activity. It demands constant practice and eternally new inspiration, and herein lies the second meaning of “don't just be a writer.”
Don’t call yourself a “writer.” Weird, isn’t it? But seriously, don’t do it, or if you have to do it, try to do it as sparingly as possible. Calling yourself a writer can turn into a badge that you sport on your chest at parties with a cocktail in hand. Calling yourself a writer can turn into an excuse for not writing anything for a while—and any time that you’re not writing or thinking about something you can write down later is honestly time wasted. It’s definitely a harsh, cramped way to look at the time you spend and the way you live.
But you’re not doing it to be comfortable, remember?
Instead, when people ask what you do, say, “I’m writing.” Not “I’m a writer”—“I’m writing.” For one thing, just do it for the looks on their faces. Seriously, it’s priceless. Try not to crack up a little when you see it. People never expect to hear it. Also, saying it this way will help you. Repeat it like a mantra, and it’ll serve as both a comfort while you’re actively writing and an admonishment when you should be. You’re not a writer—you’re writing. The active voice makes all the difference.
Oh yeah, one last thing—writer’s block doesn’t exist. It’s perfectly OK not to think so. Go ahead, toss whatever device you’re reading this on across the room if it makes you feel better (although if you actually did that, you should be mildly concerned for yourself). Writer’s block sure as hell feels like a real problem, so much of the time—but what you’re taking as writer’s block is actually a signal to switch gears for a while and try something else—a walk, something to eat, some music, or even writing about something else—maybe something completely random. Try writing about that time you met Suzanne Collins at midnight in a hole-in-the-wall bookshop in Manhattan and discovered that she’s about as social as Katniss Everdeen herself, but that she loves her granddaughter more than she’ll ever love her fans or her fame.
