Are You Really A Writer? Or Are You Just A Wannabe?

It is a worrying trend being seen on social media, for people to ask questions about how motivation to write is achieved, or how people make time for writing.
 
Part of the reason it is worrying is that it is obvious that the person asking the question hasn’t done the slightest bit of research into what being a writer actually involves. They seem to think that you just sit down, start to write and a short while later you have a finished book to sell.
 
Which means they are really looking for a quick way to make a buck and think that writing may be that way.
 
Poor deluded fools.
 
However, it is the questions around motivation that really puzzle me. The questioner seems to think that motivation comes from without and not from within.

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Now, we know that part of the job of a leader is to motivate their team. Having attended (and tutored) numerous leadership courses in my time, I’m quite familiar with the concepts of leadership in terms of motivation within a workplace.
 
For writers, however, there is no leader to provide motivation.
 
It appears to me that the concept of people motivating themselves to do things is an idea that is dying out. Not completely, of course. Talk to any sports star and you will find self-motivation very high on their list of personal qualities. But in the wider world, where people work for vast corporations, it seems to be expected that motivation is something that will be provided by the company, just like they provide toilet facilities.
 
But that is where the world of the Indie author is so different from so many other professions.

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There are many types of writer and, for some of them, if they don’t write they don’t get paid. That is probably motivation enough. Some may also lose their jobs if they don’t produce high enough quality writing. Again, it’s a strong motivation to perform well.
 
But for the Indie author, if they don’t write then nothing happens. They don’t get paid, but they weren’t getting paid anyway, at least, not for writing. They can’t be sacked because no one employs them as an author.
 
But the one sure sign that you are an author is that you can’t NOT write. You have to tell the story. You don’t need any other motivation.
 
A real author would never ask on social media “I write a couple of hundred words, then I run out of motivation. How do you keep going?”
 
If you have ever said that, or thought that, then you are not an author. At best you are a wannabe who wants the “glory” of being an author but doesn’t want to actually do any writing.

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The same applies to the question of time management, which is really a sub-set of motivation.
 
A real writer always finds time to write, be it formally at a desk, or on the fly while waiting for a bus. They could plan their time better, so they could get more writing done, but they find the time anyway.
 
But the most fundamental thing about time management for Indie authors is being prepared to sacrifice something else in order to make time for writing.
 
Let me use an analogy. If someone wants to be a footballer, their coach will expect them to put in a number of hours each week at practice, honing and developing their skills. If they aren’t prepared to put in the time, their coach will be very blunt with them and tell them they’ll never make it as a footballer because they aren’t prepared to put in the time. 

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If the footballer says they don’t have time to attend practice, their coach will tell they have to make time, otherwise they are out of the team.
 
And any real footballer would understand that. If you want to make it big, you have to be prepared to focus your whole life around what you want to do.
 
But writers don’t have coaches, in that sense. No one is standing over them telling them they have to practice their writing for the next two hours or they’re going to be dropped from the writing team.
 
But if they are really a writer, they don’t need to be told that anyway, because there is nothing they would rather be doing than writing.
 
So, if you can’t think of a single thing that you would be prepared to drop from your life so that you have more time to write, then you probably aren’t a writer. And yes, that may mean not seeing friends so often, or not watching so much TV or not going to the movies. It may even mean not playing football.
 
But a real writer won’t notice the sacrifice they are making because what they really want to do is write.

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So, to summarise.
 
If you have to ask “How do you make time for writing?” you may not be a writer.
 
If you have to ask “How do you maintain your motivation for writing?” you almost certainly aren’t really a writer.
 
But, if you are sat at a bus stop hoping that the bus will be delayed for a few more minutes so you can complete the paragraph you are working on, then you may be a writer, because you are both motivated and you have made time for your writing.
 
However, for those of you that may still be having doubts, I’ve devised this short Q & A to help you decide.

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Q1. You are working on a tricky bit of dialogue for your book and your baby starts crying. Do you
 
a. Stop what you are doing and go and see to the baby, or
b. Go to the coffee shop so you can work undisturbed?
 

Q2. You have had a long hard day at work, when you get home do you
 
a. Open a bottle of wine/beer/whisky, and sit down in front of the TV while you drink a glass, or
b. Sit down and start working on your book?
 
Q3. Your favourite music act is appearing in town, and you have been offered tickets to their show. Do you
 
a. Take the tickets and go to see the show, or
b. Turn down the tickets because you want to get started on the next chapter of your book?
 
Q4. Your grandmother’s funeral has been scheduled for the only day that week when you can devote some time to your writing. Do you
 
a. Go to the funeral, or
b. Go to the funeral but take your laptop and hope you can sit at the back and do some writing at the same time?
 
Q5. Your partner has won a holiday for 2 at your dream destination, but the dates are for the same week that you were going to attend a writers’ retreat. Do you
 
a. Go on holiday with your partner, or
b. Go on the writers’ retreat?
 
ANSWERS
 
5 b’s. There is no point in fighting it, you are a writer.
4 b’s. You are probably a writer, but you are easily distracted.
3 b’s or less. Sorry, you’re just a wannabe writer.
 
Note: The above questions and answers are not to be taken too seriously, but if you found yourself seriously considering answering b to all the questions, then you really are a writer. We certainly don’t advocate leaving your baby to cry while you go to the coffee shop to write. No, really, that is not a good thing to do.
 
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