If you live to write, you will be able to live from writing. But if your goal is to make a living from writing and you don’t live to write, you won’t make a living from writing. Nataša Ilić
When asked if you are (already) a writer (and you may not even know it), you will find out if you simply answer the following 3 questions:
1. Writers write. Do you write? If the answer is no, then you are not (yet) a writer.
2. The writers are well read. Do you enjoy reading and how many books have you read so far? If you are reluctant to read, then this profession is probably not for you.
3. Writers have talent. Talent is innate. Look back on your childhood: did you write essays in elementary school, did you get good grades in your native and foreign languages, did you win prizes in competitions, spent time in the library, hung out with a book while the other children played in the park…? If the answer is no, then you probably don’t have that innate talent for writing…
If, despite all of the above, you really want to one day become a writer or engage in some related activity, continue reading the text (in case you don’t know what related activities are, I will list some: content writing, guest writing, ghost writing, writing for websites, translation, journalism…). But, back to the key question from the title of the text: how to BECOME a writer (if you’re not already)…
1. Do you write? And if not, WHEN do you intend to start? It’s that simple… You won’t become a writer if you don’t write.
2. To the question HOW to write and HOW to practice writing – the answer depends on the PURPOSE. Do you want to write a book, an article, a text for a website, a text for an advertisement…? The first question that arises is: who is the text intended for; the second, also important, is: what is the text talking about? Depending on the purpose, give yourself a topic and practice. Write as if you were already writing for your readers, for the employer, for the client; as if you were already a pro.
Of course, writing a book requires more time (and the writer HAS that time available or at least gives it to himself), while writing for articles and the Internet is time-limited. Give yourself a topic and limit your time while making sure that the text has the appropriate form: introduction, elaboration, conclusion, key words and elements that will intrigue the readers to continue reading and not wander to another page. Keep in mind that these texts are written on purpose and go in that direction.
3. The third question concerns reading. What to read if we want to write? The answer is EVERYTHING. And that is the only logical answer. And no, you should not only read Nobel Prize winners, you should also read good literature and less good and easy books and books for the beach and vacations and school literature and scientific literature and essays and novellas and novels and short stories… You should read as long as that urge does not crystallize itself, until it begins to break through with its own weight and to look for a way to express itself and reformulate into a written word. Something like collecting treasures… And that treasure in us, art that ennobles, accumulates in our soul. And it becomes heavier and has more and more knowledge and skills and has a lot to say… And then, simply like an avalanche, it begins to churn and churn and meander – until it pours its nobility into words. That is what well-read means.
4. Talent: talent is innate. We don’t choose that ‘something’. That something chooses us. And it’s just like that. Whether you have talent or not, not only you, but also everyone around you, will know from the early childhood. Some people call it aptitude, skill, they say that someone is good at something, that something (inspiration) just comes to him, that he succeeds… Then usually that talent is recognized by teachers at school and other pupils who ask for help (in writing compositions, exercises for foreign Language…). Then usually the first awards, recognitions, praises follow… After compulsory education, today’s man is ‚‚directed“ (by the community) and leans towards a profession depending not only on inclination but also on its profitability, encouragement / support by parents (the support he has or doesn’t have), condemnation from the environment (writers are often ridiculed because others consider them artistic souls and often mock them in childhood/early youth). Yes, art is still considered something abstract and unprofitable. The question that writers hear most often when they tell someone what they do (for a living) is, „What do you do for a living?“. And this is also a great truth – very few writers really live from their work, and among those who live exclusively from writing there are a large number of them who are not writers at all – they write to enrich their biography, they write because it is good for the image, they promote themselves through books, make money from web editions, write as guest authors or are simply self-proclaimed writers because that’s how they classify themselves in the circle of ‚‚intellectuals‚‚ which of course is vanity… So who is the ‚‚real‚‚ writer?
5. Who is a ‚‚real‚‚ writer and how to recognize him in yourself (and others): a writer is one who writes. And who enjoys writing. Regardless of whether the writing will bring him income. He does not write on purpose, has no hidden plans, is not pretentious – he writes from his soul, and his soul is pure and refined by art. And he writes because he catches even the subtle, almost invisible threads of human nature. And he can put them into words. He writes because he has something to say – even though he knows that, despite what has been said, the world will continue to hurtle; that despite what was presented – and enough of that has already been said a long time ago – people, those wonderful beings, continue blindly on their way, chained both by character and by the blows of fate, broken, dilapidated, powerless to see and understand…
Because writing is not the goal; it is the purpose of existence. That’s why the writer writs. For the human race. For a better tomorrow. For ever. For all time.
