Writer? Who says?
If you were asked to define what qualifies one as a writer, what would you say? Someone who is a wordsmith? Someone who is erudite? Someone who is funny? How about someone who simply strikes a nerve in your psyche? There are probably many more attributes you think would qualify one as being a ‘writer.’
But who’s to really say? If a person feels compelled to write, does that alone make him or her a writer? (And is the use of him or her rather than them in this instance a qualifier?) What about popularity? Whatever the established benchmarks are for defining a writer, they are purely subjective.
Maybe the more important question is good writer or bad writer? Great writer or fair writer? Soulful writer or sterile writer? One dimensional writer or unfocused writer. And so forth.
Many people are in awe of the writing profession and put writers on a pedestal. The exercise of writing intimidates most people, probably because they feel inadequate about the raw mechanics of it — spelling and grammar and punctuation to name a few. Certainly having a command of these is essential to what most would consider to be at least adequate writing. Having an extensive vocabulary cannot be overestimated, though it can sometimes lead to pretentiousness.
But if I had to point out any one aspect of writing that carries the day, it would be honest, heart-felt content. If you feel so strongly about something that you just have to write about it, guess what?
