You Might Be a Writer If... #amwriting

You might be a writer if...

1.  You stare into space as if you’re catatonic. You’re husband/son/daughter asks you, “Mom, are you okay?” You answer, “Yes, I’m just writing.” Because you write the scene in your head before you even touch your computer keyboard.

2.  You shamelessly listen to strangers’ conversations and don’t think of it as eavesdropping. No, you’re doing research for your next book and keeping a list on your cell phone’s notepad of interesting comments you’ve overheard. Then, you have no qualms about using those quotes.

3.  You wake up early in the morning, and the first thing you think about is the scene you wrote at 2 a.m. and how you could make it better. The last thing you think about before you close your eyes at night is how you’re going to write the next scene. Because you always have a work in progress.

4.  You have no problem killing someone...in your writing. You get by with murder and your readers love it. The pages of your books are littered with dead bodies and no one thinks of you as a serial killer.

5.  You often talk about your characters lives as if they are real people, and your family responds to your comments as if you are completely rational. Because to respond any other way elicits a snarl from you. Your family is almost as familiar with your characters as you are.

6.  You talk about plot, point of view, characterization, motive, goal, and conflict incessantly, and your loved ones just smile at you and go about whatever they were doing, knowing that you are in your writer’s zone. It’s like getting a non-verbal pat on the head.

7.  You worry about how you could have made your last book better...even after it’s published. Because no matter how long you’re in the business, there is always something new to learn about the art and craft of writing.

8.  You consider writer’s block to be worse than having a root canal. Worse than constipation. Worse than a recurring nightmare. Worse than that sinking feeling you get when you misplace your purse and you think you left it on a bench in the shopping mall.

9.  You embrace the idea that you’ll never be normal. You know you think differently from most people and you’re okay with that. After all, when it comes to fiction, normal is boring. Twisted is better.

10.      Your husband refers to your computer as Precious because it is never far from your side. If you misplace it, you suffer a panic attack. You obsessively back up your work...just in case your computer dies. Your computer is your best friend and you don’t think that’s sick.