You might be a writer (or writers)

January 17, 2022   🕑 5 minutes read

What is a writer? We’ve looked for those tell-tale signs, and we’ve found some more. You might be a writer…or perhaps you might be several writers.

Jeff Foxworthy says that you might be a redneck. But I say that you might be a writer. In fact, I’ve said it seven times already:

  1. 54 ominous signs that you might be a writer
  2. 52 signs that you might be a writer
  3. 51 signs that you might be a writer
  4. 52 signs that you might be a writer
  5. 56 signs that you might be a writer
  6. 54 signs that you might be a writer
  7. 51 traits you need most to be a writer

Now, I’ll say it an eighth time. And, as with so many writer traits, perhaps you are more than one writer.

55 signs that you might be a writer

If you have a pen name instead of a nick name, you might be a writer.

If the drafts in your house don’t come in through the window, you might be a writer.

If the address on your luggage tag is the same as the local public library, you might be a writer.

If your favorite food is whatever you can reach without getting up from your desk, you might be a writer.

If 0nceUpon@time is your most used password, you might be a writer.

If caps lock is the bane of your existence, you might be a writer.

If your walls are covered in sticky notes, you might be a writer.

writer sticky notes on the wall

If you know the difference between an ellipse and an eclipse, you might be a writer (or an astronomer).

If you’ve ever been haunted by the ghosts of works-in-progress past at the same time as the ghosts of works-in-progress present because they are the same, you might be a writer.

If you seem to have become an expert on more arcane subjects than you knew existed, you might be a writer.

If you hang out at the #WritingCommunity on Twitter, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever fainted when somebody “bookmarked” a page by turning it’s corner, you might be a writer.

If you file query letters alphabetically by agent, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever revised something other than your opinion more than 20 times, you might be a writer.

If one of your prized possessions is a collection of gnawed-on pencils, you might be a writer.

If you are a Tardis, you might be a writer.

If you can’t resist cemeteries because they are filled with so many untold stories, you might be a writer.

If your search history could launch a federal investigation, you might be a writer.

writer search history investigation

Searching for that dead body smell!

If your view of pandemics is “great story idea!”, you might be a writer.

If you were actually more productive during the pandemic, you might be a writer.

If you finish the ditty “Sticks and stones will break my bones” with “but words will kill”, you might be a writer.

If the sight of two men emptying a septic tank makes you wonder if there’s a body in there, you might be a writer.

If you can’t get mad at people because you always understand their motivations, you might be a writer.

If the loud noise that makes others jump makes you think “SFX”, you might be a writer.

If you are still in your pyjamas as you read this, you might be a writer.

If you are an expert on more things than you can count, you might be a writer.

If you think people keep asking you what your genre is, you might be a writer.

If you have imaginary conversations with characters in your novel, you might be a writer.

If you’ve seen Something Rotten more than twice, you might be a writer.

If people keep calling you anti-social, you might be a writer.

If you never run out of words, you might be a writer.

If the drawers in your bedroom are labeled “socks”, “underwear”, “shirts”, “unfinished manuscripts” and “completed manuscripts”, you might be a writer.

writer drawers labeled

If you are considered high risk for carpal tunnel syndrome, you might be a writer.

If you’ve asked them to write “World builder” on your tombstone, you might be a writer.

If you repeatedly misuse the word “aspiring”, you are a writer (You just don’t know it yet!).

If tea leaves reveal a plot when you read them, you might be a writer.

If you always turn on captions when you watch movies because you like to see words, you might be a writer.

If your hands feel empty without a notepad, you might be a writer.

If your vocabulary includes words like “oft”, “yonder”, “ere” and “perchance”, you might be a scribe.

If you paint Easter eggs with words, you might be a writer.

If you refer to Chevrolet as an imprint of General Motors, you might be a writer.

If you are convinced that nothing you’ve ever written is any good, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever written a letter requesting a poetry category at the Olympics, you might be a writer.

If you’ve ever confused “a penny for you thoughts” with a job offer, you might be a writer.

If your idea of lifting weights involves a library card, you might be a writer.

lifting books library card

If you find humans a nuisance because they interfere with the real world developing inside your head, you might be a writer.

If you secretly suspect that emojis are an amateur attempt to put you out of business, you might be a writer.

If your keyboard activity is controlled by a feline entity, you might be a writer.

If your best ideas come while you are in bed, taking a shower, navigating rapids, running from a bear, driving or stuck in conversation with a very chatty, boring person who would be greatly offended if you were to rush out to jot down an idea, you might be a writer.

If your preferred pronoun is “published”, you might be a writer.

If the I in your IQ stands for “imagination”, you might be a writer.

If you are lost in space, even when your body is right here on Earth, you might be a writer.

If you own more than a dozen dictionaries, you might be a writer.

If your office politics typically involves imaginary characters, you might be a writer.

If your nightmares are about being unable to find the right word, you might be a writer.

Hire a ghostwriter

There are so many kinds of writers, with so many traits. Which of these traits do you see in yourself. How many kinds of writers are you, anyway?

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


Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest

Would you like to share your thoughts?

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *