These traits will make you a writer

September 22, 2018   🕑 4 minutes read

What does it take to be a writer? Here are some traits that can help.

This is the seventh installment in a series that began as just a few random thoughts that I had to publish somewhere. When you gotta write, you gotta write.

If you have what it takes to be a writer, you’ll probably want to read the previous editions, so here they are:

Read here the first 54 ominous signs that you might be a writer.

Read here the second 52 signs that you might be a writer.

Read here the third 51 signs that you might be a writer.

Read here the fourth 52 signs that you might be a writer.

Read here the fifth 56 signs that you might be a writer.

Read here the sixth 54 signs that you might be a writer.

Now, without further ado, here are…

The 51 traits you need most to be a writer

I'm a writer t-shirts

If you wear a T-shirt that reads, “I’m a writer”, you might be a writer.

If you have reading glasses in every room, you might be a writer.

If you spend more time choosing words than choosing clothes, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever added footnotes or a bibliography to a love letter, you might be a writer.

If your bucket list includes “Travel to Oxford to see the famous comma”, you might be a writer.

If your favorite part of a nature trail is reading the interpretive panels, you might be a writer.

If insanity runs in your family…and you know just the words to explain it, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever fought for a book’s honor, you might be a writer.

If there is a pen hanging from your Christmas tree, you might be a writer.

If your favorite charity is the World Literacy Foundation, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever prayed for a longer alphabet, you might be a writer.

If you taught your dog to fetch a pen instead of slippers, you might be a writer.

If you turn off the Oscars after “Best Original Screenplay”, you might be a writer.

If you can almost instantly name all six words formed from the letters y-e-l-l-o-w, you might be a writer.

If the first thing you throw in a lifeboat is a book, you might be a writer.

If the side of a white panel van looks to you like an invitation, you might be a writer.

Write here on a white panel van

If you’ve ever turned on subtitles just for fun, you might be a writer.

If your pens always run out of ink surprisingly fast, you might be a writer.

If you love skyscrapers because they have more stories, you might be a writer.

If you walk around with a notebook in your pocket, you might be a writer.

If you have a tattoo with more than 312 words in it, you might be a writer.

If people lower their voices to a whisper when you walk in the room, you might be a writer.

If you can name more than seven significant dates in Shakespeare’s life without looking at your notes, you might be a writer.

If your library card wears out before the expiry date, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever picked Hemingway or Orwell in a fantasy football draft, you might be a writer.

If you have more paper in your house than plastic, you might be a writer.

If the Oxford comma ever inspired you to promote the Princeton period, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever gotten a speeding ticket for writing too fast, you might be a writer.

If hand cramps are a frequent ailment, you might be a writer.

If you see mirrors as visual autobiographies, you might be a writer.

If you see mirrors as visual autobiographies, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever used a chest as a coffee table, because that would be a table of contents, you might be a writer.

If you really do read Playboy for the articles, you might be a writer.

If you are always looking for Mr. Write, you might be a writer.

If you are Mr. Write, you might be a writer.

If you measure your success by the number of bylines you score, you might be a writer.

If you have a prize collection of rejection letters, you might be a writer.

If you don’t see initials carved into a tree as a blemish on nature, you might be a writer.

If every trip doubles as a research expedition, you might be a writer.

If your favorite jacket is a dust jacket, you might be a writer.

If you can’t resist leaving a message in very dirty car windows, you might be a writer.

If you tell pollsters that the most pressing issue facing society today is writer’s block, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever been to a storytelling conference, you might be a writer.

If your trash can fills up quickly with crumpled paper, you might be a writer.

If your trash can fills up quickly with crumpled paper, you might be a writer.

If you’ve already worn the letters off your six-month-old keyboard, you might be a writer.

If you hate speaking on the phone because you can’t see the words, you might be a writer.

If you think that reading heals all wounds, you might be a writer.

If you’ve thought up an alternative ending for the last movie you saw, you might be a writer.

If you’ll work for peanuts as long as the story is good, you might be a writer.

If you’ve cast every stranger you passed today in your new manuscript, you might be a writer.

If you prefer a head massage to a back massage, you might be a writer.

If you are proud as a peacock of you bookmark collection, you might be a writer.

If you have any or all of these traits, you might be a writer without even knowing it. Now, put on your dust jacket and make your way to the nearest storytelling conference.

About David Leonhardt

David Leonhardt is President of The Happy Guy Marketing, a published author, a "Distinguished Toastmaster", a former consumer advocate, a social media addict and experienced with media relations and government reports.

Read more about David Leonhardt


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  1. Karen Stephenson says:
    at 11:25 pm

    I love this David! Some of these are so true!! Way more paper than plastic here!! Rejection letters – now that’s a blast from the past! Remember the days of the old fashioned query letter!? You were lucky if you heard back at all let alone within six months!

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