When Do You Become A Writer?

I knew I was supposed to be a writer; I had made that declaration in the closet of my soul.

~Padgett Powell

When do you become a writer?

When you first write?

When your writing is first praised?

When your writing is first published?

No self-definition can come from outside. You don't "become a writer" because others say that you have written well.

You become a writer when you tell yourself this is what you are.

If you have fundamental self-honesty, you will then write. You will carry out the activity you have linked with your deepest identity.

Your membership card as a writer is issued in the closet of your soul.

Today, I'll see what I think in the closet of my soul. I will make my declaration there.

Page 121, Walking on Alligators - A Book of Meditations for Writers

by Susan Shaughnessy