When Did You Know You Were a Writer?

There are probably as many answers to this question as there are writers! It's something that has interested me for a long time.

And the question that goes with it, is what makes a person a writer? Some argue that only writing fiction makes a writer. Others say writing books. Novellas.

Some argue that writing for commerce, such as copy writing, advertising writing, web content, business emails, landing pages, grant writing, publicity... all these, too, are writing. journalists are, without question, people who write.But are the people who do them actually writers?

And do they harbor a closet ambition to one day be a "real" writer, with a stack of books to their names?

Because isn't that what most of us think of as being a writer - someone who writes books, whether fact or fiction?

You'll laugh at this - I wrote my first essay as an angry (and perhaps precautious) four year old. I'd been told at Sunday school that God forgives everyone. Then one Sunday, the teacher told us all that there was a Hell for sinners, a horrible place.

And my four year old self couldn't get the discrepancy out of my mind. Would an all-loving, all forgiving God throw badly behaved kids intro the flames?

Why, or course not. I filled several pages of my tiny notebook, and handed them in.

My Sunday school teacher was not impressed. I dropped out soon after that...:-)

So, for a while, my writing was confined to school work. But I read newspapers voraciously from the age of seven or so, and I so admired the men and women whose words filled those pages. I did apply for a Fleet Street - the London, England, Mecca for journalists - job on a national newspaper. They kindly suggested I try again when I was a little older and had some journalistic experience....

So I started small, persuading our local newspaper editor to hire me. He didn't think women were cut out to be journalists, told me he'd give me six months trial and then I'd be out. That was a challenge I eagerly accepted when I was 17. After three months, he paid for my college courses and I became one of the youngest senior reporters around.

I worked for a number of publications, national magazines, etc., after that.

But there was an itch I couldn't scratch, even with the best of stories.

Until one day I sat down and started to write a book.

And that was that.

With some breaks due to work, travel, health problems, children, all the usual stuff that everyone has to deal with, I have been writing steadily.

I've written mysteries, romantic suspense, romance, children's books, books on mental health and on travel. I even wrote a book on writing: Naked Writing, The No Frills Way to Write Your Book.

And have no problem now in answering the question "What do you do?" by happily saying:"I'm a published writer."

So, I'd love to hear your views on what makes a writer - and how you came to be one!