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So lately I was reading the FATE Core system. Yes, I read gamebooks, not just to play them, but because of a possible side game project. While reading, I put some other reading on hold as a gamebook is, well, a book.
This had me thinking about how much writing we do that we don’t think of as writing. You, a potential or current writer, may not see how much of a writer you already are.
If you write a report at work, people might not think of it as writing – including you. That thing may be 60 pages of prose, infographics, and careful phrasing, a virtual novella of workflows. Yet, some (including you) may not think of it as writing.
If you create a newsletter for your friends and family every month or every quarter, it’s writing. Sure, it’s got a zip file filled with cat pictures, but it’s writing. In fact, if you do a newsletter for your own writing, that’s writing.
If you’re a Business Analyst, a lot of what you do is writing. Feature sets and Scrum Stories, updates, and wireframes all involve writing.
Think of any of the above works – they involve enormous amounts of skills. One has to craft communications, pick words, create enormous amounts of writing. Creators format and organize and edit these seemingly “not-so-writerly” creations. They’re writing.
And of course, if you’re writing a game manual, then you’re a writer.
Which means there’s a very good chance you’re a writer right now.
Which means even if you think of yourself as a writer and do these things, you’re more of a writer than you know.
Which means a lot of things you do are writing. So if you feel you aren’t enough of a writer, or can’t be a writer, chances are that’s B.S. – you’re a writer. You just want to be more of one about specific works.
SO next time you doubt your writing, ask about all the things you do at work or at home. Chances are you’ve got less to doubt, do more than you think, and are learning more than you realize.
Now, use it to be the writer you want to be.
Steven Savage