- In your dreams you think, "This would make an awesome story." (Although usually the dream is about something stupid, like talking zebras.)
- You look in bookstores/libraries for the place on the bookshelf where your book would be if it were published. (At my local library it'd be between a book called A Taste for Quiet and a collection of short stories called Gothic!)
- You say to your sister, "I need a stupid boyfriend name and a bunch of gay guy names" and she automatically gives suggestions without questioning.
- You're talking to your writer friend in public and say something like, "I don't know, I might kill him. I just have to think of a good way to do it." And then you realize the people around you don't know you're talking about a fictional person.
- When someone asks you, "So how's that book you're reading?" you give them a long speech analyzing the plot and characters that they really don't want to hear.
- ... But when someone asks you, "How's that book you're writing?" you respond by banging your head against the closest inanimate object––preferably against something large and solid like a wall or a table. Or you burst into tears. Or you do both.
- Whenever you watch movies/TV you're always on the lookout for actors/actresses who look like your characters.
- Your computer is full of documents containing stories, outlines, and character inventories.
- Everything inspires you––people, places, songs, books, movies, photographs, paintings, plants, animals ... Heck, LIFE inspires you!
- You write because you exist.
So, tell me. How else do you know you're a writer? :)
LOL! Those are fantastic! I would add, you know you're a writer when the people you love stop getting concerned by how often you 'zone out.'
ReplyDeleteHaha! That happens to me too. I'll be sitting around staring off and nothing and my friends/family will be like, "Are you okay?" O_o But I'm sure they're used to it by now. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, zoning out. I can't tell you how many times I've been in the car with my boyfriend and we'd be talking about something, and suddenly a song would come on the radio that gets me thinking about something I'm writing, and I completely lose the thread of the conversation. He's so funny about it now.
ReplyDeleteHaha, this is great! I definitely do the first one.
ReplyDeleteYou know you're a writer when you constantly have ink or pencil lead smeared across your fingers OR you have "typing hands", meaning you've typed so much that your hands hurt and your pinky is tired of pushing the backspace key. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat list!
This is awesome! And it makes me feel official. :D The zoning out thing got me, too. Last year my friend was in labor and I was just staring at the floor. She thought she was scaring me. She wasn't. I was just thinking about my story. lol. It probably wasn't a good time.
ReplyDeleteYou know you are a writer when you can type really fast without looking at the keys. You know you are a writer when you're worried about starting driving because you think you might zone out accidentally. You know you are a writer when you love to be in department stores and touch everything like how a little kid acts like. Wait, the last one's probably just me. Lol.
ReplyDeleteOoh...I've got a good one. You know you are a writer when you tilt your head more often than the average person.
I like Sukanya's. I often zone out while driving because I'm musing over a particular plot point, and I can, indeed, type really fast without looking at the keys. Which is nice because I can rest my eyes while typing. But--that was more of a graduate school survival mechanism than a writer thing. Awesome post, Brigid!
ReplyDelete@Krista - Yes, my hands hurt constantly from typing. Especially after a really furious round of writing. I'm like "OW OW OW." :P
ReplyDelete@Sarah Click - LOL! That's so funny. :D Ah, the awkward life of a writer.
@Sukanya - haha, I know ... I can't imagine how some people have to look at the keyboard while typing. In sixth grade we had to take Keyboarding class and I was the only person who knew how to type. So then I'd do the exercises really fast and then write random stories with my friend. It was fun. I'm also paranoid about driving. And I also act like a little kid in stores, although I don't know what that has to do with being a writer––besides being observant, I guess. :D
@Brigid
ReplyDeleteI know with the typing thing. Once, my mom was watching me while I was writing some story. I was looking at her behind me. She was like, "How are you doing that?" Ha. She just finger pokes at the keys which annoys me. I don't like when people poke at the keys and type like that. I use the home keys because I just do. I know a lot of people who poke type.
Oh, I wasn't good at typing at first, but once I started writing more, I got a lot of practice. A lot. I can effectively use the backspace key easily. Luckily, I have long fingers.
Haha. Driving. I'm scared of driving, and I'm just starting out. My three biggest fears: hitting a car, hitting a pedestrian, or hitting the curb. Yikes! Add zoning out to the equation. And you get a very nasty looking Sukanya in the ambulance. But I'm trying to avoid zoning out. It helps to have a very nervous dad next to you. Lol.
I love department stores like Kohl's. I just love touching everything. I have to touch like everything. Sometimes, I really wonder if I have some mental disorder going on in there. When I look for shirts, I like feel shirts more than ever. Ha. Observant. That's a nice way to put it.
Haha! My mom sometimes makes fun of how I type too. When I'm really into something I type super fast. And my mom will be like, "How are you typing that fast and actually writing out words? You sound like you're just banging against your keyboard." lol :P
ReplyDeleteI started learning to type in like second grade because I had this Lion King typing computer game. At the time I didn't even realize there was really a purpose to learning how to type ... Haha. Also they taught us in 3rd-6th grade.
I'm scared of learning to drive ... and I haven't even started yet. I can just tell I'll be horrible at it. I'm way too jumpy and clumsy and just ... It would be bad. But I should learn, since I'm going off to college in two months. Urgh.
Yes! I love Kohl's. There's just so much ... stuff. I touch a lot of things, too. I like feeling different fabrics. :) I also love Target. And Ikea. It's like ... So bright and colorful. :D
Haha. Typing is fun. I'll be the geek to admit that.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't started driving? Man, you're pretty late on that. Haha. I'm jumpy too. And kind of slow. I'm still practicing remembering left from right. I mean, I know which is which. But when I zone out or just am out of it, I get it confused. Bahaha. Yeah, not really funny after an accident though. I also seem to get the gas pedal from the brake confused sometimes in a spur of a moment thing. The life span of the average driving Sukanya is probably 30. If I'm in luck, 35. *slams head*
Ooh...Ikea. I love Ikea. I always have the urge in Ikea to sit in every chair there. Don't ask. I want to go shopping alone one day. I just don't because I go with my parents or sister. If I go alone, I would take like hours and hours. I am such a slow shopper. My sister is just the opposite. When I shop with her, I just touch everything but don't think about buying anything because how could I? She goes just so fast. Zoom. Store to store. I want to get lost in an accessory store someday. Or not get lost. I just want to spend hours in one. I love accessories. Not wearing them often though. I just like looking at them like different necklaces and rings. Ha.
Did I just have a conversation about shopping? *slaps head*
You know you're a writer when you wake up in the middle of the night and have to email yourself so you don't forget that great line you just came up with. In your sleep.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can't believe I wasn't following your blog! I've fixed that now.
@Sukanya - Typing is fun. Sometimes I play typing games when I'm bored. :P
ReplyDeleteI know I am. But, well, my family is huge and we have a lot of stuff to deal with, and my parents didn't want to have to pay for driver's ed and yada yada. I'll learn during college somehow, I guess.
Me too. All the chairs there are really cool. Just ... everything there is cool. :) I also love accessories. I especially love earrings. They're so dangly and awesome.
Haaa yeah, this conversation has become pretty shallow hasn't it?
@Matthew - I'm always too lazy to write my ideas down in the middle of the night. lol. I just always hope that I'll remember them.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for following! :)
@Brigid
ReplyDeleteYes, let's get back to writing. Shall we? Ha.
I hate coming up with good stuff in like the night. I am then forced to write on my ipod with the notes thing. When I think of a poem though, I just have to write it down somehow because poems are harder to remember. When I get a story idea, I usually don't lose it if it is for a on-going story. But new story ideas drive me nuts when I forget them.
Wow, I didn't know that other people did that too! I ALWAYS have dreams in which I think, "Hey! This would be a great story idea!" and then when I wake up I realize that it's actually not. This comes as a shock to me: maybe I'm not crazy after all!
ReplyDelete@Hannah
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone in your misery, Hannah. Haha. I get a lot of dreams. 'Tis fun except I don't remember half of them. I like the dreams where I'm another person the best. They make great story ideas. So far, 2 of my stories are from dreams I've had. Both are equally creepy. I'm usually good at filling in the blanks to dreams.
LOL! Wow I'm so glad I decided to check out your blog. I'm pretty sure I've done everything on your list. :)
ReplyDeleteI especially like the one about talking about your characters in public. The looks you get are priceless.
Nice post! I'll be sure to check out more!
@Sukanya - That's a good idea. Writing your ideas on your iPod I mean. I just got an iPod touch so I should start doing that. ;)
ReplyDelete@Hannah - Haha nope, you're definitely not the only one! (My zebra example was a real example, by the way.) I also had a dream once where I was in this scary abandoned-looking school and there were a bunch of kids running around trying to kill each other. It was all like chaotic and apocalyptic, and I was just sitting there in the dream thinking, "THIS WOULD BE A REALLY COOL STORY"––like, not caring about the violence at all. lol. I haven't actually thought up an idea to go with that scenario though ...
@Ava Jae - Thanks for checking out my blog! :) Haha yes, I've grown accustomed to those looks.
BTW, I have another one to add to my list:
You know you're a writer when you've been typing for so long, and you've been so absorbed in your story, you don't notice that your laptop has overheated and burned your knee. Heh heh. O_o Note to self: don't wear shorts while writing.
Two words about the actress thing: Britany Murphy. :P
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I loved this! I hate it when people who aren't writers ask me how my novel is coming. lol! As if they really care.
I'm glad you're posting so often now. I'd love to post more but no one reads my blog. lol! I do post randomly sometimes, just for fun.
Haha :D
ReplyDeleteThank you! Haha, I know. I think it's kinda hard for them to understand.
Yes, I'm glad too. Although I haven't posted in a couple days so I should probably come up with something new.
Another one for this post occurred to me yesterday:
You know you're a writer when you always write in complete and properly punctuated sentences, even when you're chatting online. :P
@Brigid
ReplyDeleteYeah, I guess it is a good idea. Except I'm forced to write with no apostrophes or commas in certain places because it's a bother to do that. I've always thought it was funny that like no one uses the notes app....except me. Like no one I know uses it. Ha. I also found this diary app thing which is stupid for diaries. But for writing, pretty good. It even has a lock type thing. Lol. Did you get the Ipod touch generation 4? Lucky if you did. With the camera and other cool stuff. :)
Yeah, it is a pain to put in apostrophes and commas. But if you're just taking notes I guess it doesn't matter that much. Um, is that the most recent one? Because yeah, that's the one. With the camera and stuff. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen you put in your earphones along with a song that you like, and you end up completely zoned out as you imagine where it would fit in as part of the movie soundtrack.
ReplyDeleteOr when you lay awake in bed at night, for hours on end, wondering whether or not you should kill off your hero. It's only when the alarm goes off in the morning that you realize you can't kill your hero, because the book is told from his/her point of view. Headdesk.
Or when you sit down on a park bench and zone out for hours, thinking of ways to describe leaves and voices. Only when it gets dark do you realize you've been there for two hours. Thinking about adjectives. For plants.
Brigid, I absolutely love your blog. This post made me laugh so hard; number four is so me.
(I'm Kira from Goodreads, by the way.)
Number one is so me.
DeleteI practically SLEEP with my MP3 player. And I spent half an hour last night listening to the Robin Hood Prince of Thieves sound track over and OVER again, fitting in each part with my science fiction movie.
You know you're a writer when the way you get through driving school is to watch all the people around you and make up stories about their lives. You know you're a writer when you go to festivals just to people watch. You know you're a writer when you see something cool or beautiful and wonder how to work it into your current novel.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I loved it!
Brigid, every thing on that list could be used to describe me. Especially that thing about killing off characters.
ReplyDeleteAll the time! You're blog is so relate-able and helpful for aspiring novelists. I am incredibly glad I found it.
ReplyDelete