by Elaina Lyons

Here’s a question for you:

Is a writer still a writer if they don’t write? Is a painter still a painter if they don’t paint? Who are we if we don’t do the very thing that defines us?

I’ve always identified as a writer. I’m a marketer by trade and a journalist by training, but at the end of the day, I’m a writer.

My mind is the writer, really. So what am I?

The thing is, some days I don’t have time to write. Hell, most days I don’t. I write as often as I can, most of the time in my head, scribbling down the more promising thoughts in haste either on scraps of paper or my iPhone notes app. And then once a week, I dedicate a few hours to sitting down and writing.

I’m published, yes. That was a journey in and of itself. But some days, a lot of days, the Imposter Syndrome takes over and I find myself questioning if I can really call myself a writer. Stephen King is a writer. George Orwell was a writer. Ernest Hemingway was a writer. Calling myself a writer means putting myself, in one way or another, in the same category as The Greats, and that simply feels like a lie.

But at the same time, it feels wrong to introduce myself as anything other than a writer. Because that is the thing that takes up most of my mind at any given moment. No matter what I’m doing, no matter how involved I am in my day job, my brain is sorting out plot points and working through character profiles. My mind is the writer, really. So what am I?

I think writers are supposed to be existentialists. We crave meaning and so we create it. That’s what writing is, after all. It’s molding something out of nothing. It’s not just putting the puzzle together, but designing the pieces. Writing is a process of self-actualization. It’s a journey with no real destination, because I have yet to meet or hear of a writer who finishes a piece of work and says to themselves “yes, now I’m done writing. I’ve done it. I’ve accomplished it.”

So what’s the answer to the question? Who are we if we aren’t doing the thing we’re meant to do? You can determine that for yourself. But for me, I think you can take the artist out of the art, but you can never take the art out of the artist.

Grab a copy of my novel, “The Love You Know” here!

If you’re an author and you’re interested in writing a guest blog post, please shoot me an email here.