And is he still a friend, Roger?

I think in all seriousness, things like that can be taken out of context. I think (and I do it a fair bit) that's it's easy to take someone trying to show an interest in your writing (a field in which they probably know very little about - how can they unless they write seriously themselves?) as a bit of a slight.

Writers write. They have to. It's what makes them who and what they are. It's like a physical addiction. In fact I think it IS a physical addiction. How many times, after a bad day's writing (like I had the other day when I did NOTHING that was any good and deleted the whole day's work - it really was that bad) do you have withdrawl symptoms? Bad mood, irritable, the shakes (well not quite!)

And as far as Waxy's post goes - these people have (at the most) an idea, and you know as well as me that a novel, or a short story, or a screenplay, or whatever, tales a helluva lot more than an idea. I could go on and on about learning and applying the craft, research, structure blah, blah, blah, but I'm sure you all know what I mean.

Nik.

My definitions, for what they're worth:

Author: the person who gets the credit or blame for a piece of writing. Having had to put myself down as the author of specifications, user guides, design documents and the like for years, I can assign no other connotation to the term than that, in my own mind.

Writer: someone who enjoys writing, no matter whether they do it for a living or just for their own pleasure. To make the distinction, I would add the qualifiers "amateur" or "professional", as appropriate. (Or aren't there allowed to be amateur writers? "Amateur" means "someone who does it for the love of it", after all.)

I never thought of myself as a writer, and never seriously considered that I "had a book in me", until I found myself halfway through a piece of writing that was quite obviously turning into a novel. Till then, it was just a form of relaxation - a way of testing myself to see if I could write fictional narratives that didn't seem awful. If anyone had asked me to describe that particular hobby, I would have said, "I do a bit of writing in my spare time." I would never have expected anyone else to take it seriously, because I didn't take it seriously myself. Now I've realised that I enjoy the whole experience of writing fiction far more than that of writing software. Whether I will be able to turn this activity into my main income-earning one, I don't know, but I'm giving it the best shot I can. (And the more I learn about the "traditional" publication process, the happier I am about having chosen to go the self-publication route.)


Alex

Has anyone had, “Oh, did you put me in your book?” or, “I hope you haven’t put me in it.” As if I would?

Once, when I told someone I was writing a book, they said, “wow that’s amazing.” Which was nice.

Grinder

Oddly enough, the most common response I've got when I've told someone I'm a writer is, "What? With a pen?"

Curiouser and curiouser...

"What? With a pen?"

No, that's a shepherd. I find a word processor works better. Less woolly writing.


Alex

I was at a party a while back (it still happens occasionally) - one of those when you see people from the "best days of your life" and remember just why you haven't seen them for decades.

Anyway, I got the inevitable, "what are you doing now" line and said, "I'm writing a book."

"What kind of book?"

"Fantasy - gothic romance"

"Bet it's crap."

optimist

<Added>

The other line I always get is,
"Where do you find the time?"

But then, my partner is a criminal defence solicitor and the line he always gets is, "how do you defend people when you know they're guilty."

This hush descends, he smiles gently and then... Always great fun to watch!

I generally get 'Oh that's so sweeeeeet,' and *almost* a pat on the head when I tell people I write books for children. That and the inevitable, maddening, 'Are you writing the next .... ?' It won't take a genius to fill in that blank.

It won't take a genius to fill in that blank

Or should it be "...fill in that ***blank***"?

I think I must have been very lucky with the people I've told so far. Either that, or they're all in line for Oscars.


Alex

I think children's writers do suffer particularly badly - the combination of thinking it's easier and the dreaded HP must make for a very un-merry pub conversation.

Anyone who ever thought it was easy should be forced to sit down and watch a loop-tape of the episode of Black Books where they try and write a children's picture book.

Emma

Love that episode. So true. I've read enough manuscripts to prove it.

One of my best friend's dad actually calls me JK as a nickname. It disgusts me, but I always give the same old polite smile and strained laugh.

A friend in Brighton wanted me to 'write' his idea. He became rather upset when i told him he'd just given me the plot for Aliens, and I thought he should stick to telesales.

Another annoying thing is when people get wind of the fact I am gay and decide to launch a public interrigation - when did you know? Do your parents know blah blah blah. (This never happened in Brighton, funninly enough - not once). They become agitated when you tell them you have no interest or intent of discussing your sex life with a total stranger, and, moreover, don't actually give a fuck what they think about your sexuality, as in 'oh, I don't mind gay people...' Gee, thanks. Asshole.

The questions are, without fail, always unasked for and always the same. At one party last year, me and my boyfriend made about twenty fact sheets up beforehand, and whenever anyone asked us about 'being gay', they got the FAQ's. We left empty handed, very drunk, and laughing at the general ignorance of the hetrosexual population. Sorry about that.

JB

A great article. I'm on stage 4 and would love to get to 5. Puts the whole marathon race into perspective and shows the importance of believing in your work despite the opinions of others.

In some ways I think it's toughest of all for the short fiction writers. Not the ones using it as limbering up for a novel, but the ones for whom it's the natural form. It's so boring when the answer to 'what have you published?' entails describing magazines they've never heard of, and competitions that sound more tin-pot the more you try to make them sound what they really are, which is important, exciting, serious.

Emma

It also shows the importance of having the opinions of others to compare with ones own. All of those mismatched socks and spinach-in-teeth issues, and the rest, are points which the author often misses because of "knowing" what the MS says or is supposed to say.


Alex

In light of these gripes, perhaps we should compile some lesson plans for schools on 'What Not To Say At Parties'... I should like to add, 'When a woman tells you she is a full-time mother, NEVER respond 'Gosh, don't you find that really boring?' Oh sure, because watching a little person learn new things every day and be completely fascinated by the world is MUCH more boring than sitting in a dull grey office full of dickheads doing a job that means nothing to anyone.

Whatever happened to the art of keeping these appalling statements INSIDE their heads?