Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

When One is Born a Writer….

…one is simply different. That's all there is to it. We writers are unique (some might say odd), and often misunderstood, because we have a passion for words.

Queen Victoria, ever mindful of propriety and history, once told her granddaughter, Princess Victoria Eugenie, the future queen of Spain, "Young woman, when one is born a princess, one cannot behave like others."

So, too, with writers. When one is born a writer, one cannot behave like others because one, above all else, must write. This means a few adjustments to a normal life.

When One is Born a Writer, one often must:

Stay up past midnight late to write
Rise with the dawn to write
(When Nanowrimoing, one must sometimes do both of the above)
Miss sunny days to work on novel revisions
Skip meals to write (somehow, this one never happens to me)
Consider books a line item in the budget
Live with either pen and paper in hand, or head buried in a book.
Appear antisocial because of the above
Appear dim-witted because you listen and observe instead of talking
Have stooped shoulders from working on the computer so much
Have poor vission from above
Be incapable of walking past a bookstore without going in
Be also incapable of walking past a stationary store without going in

Anyone want to add to the list of congenital traits of writers? Post a comment,and I'll compile them all for a future post.

Tagged Nanowrimo, Queen Victoria, traits of writers, writing

Charlotte

Charlotte Rains Dixon mentors creative writers from passionate to published. Charlotte is a free-lance journalist, ghostwriter, and author. She is Director Emeritus and a current mentor at the Writer's Loft, a certificate-writing program at Middle Tennessee State University. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Spalding University and is the author of a dozen books, including The Complete Guide to Writing Successful Fundraising Letters, and Beautiful America’s Oregon Coast. Her fiction has appeared in The Trunk, Santa Fe Writer’s Project, Nameless Grace, and Somerset Studios and her articles have been published in Vogue Knitting, the Oregonian, and Pology, to name a few. Her novel, Emma Jean’s Bad Behavior, was published in 2013, and she is represented by Erin Niumata at Folio Literary. Learn about her annual writing workshops in Europe at letsgowrite.com, and visit her blog at www.charlotterainsdixon.com, where you can find all kinds of tips and techniques on writing and creativity.

12 thoughts on “When One is Born a Writer….”

Louise Bostock
10/30/2008 10:49 am
Ignore the laundry so long that a mouse makes its nest in the full basket… http://carminesuperiore.blogspot.com/2007/11/cat-and-mouse.html
Reply
Scobberlotcher
10/30/2008 11:40 am
Own Costco-size Advil for relief of carpal tunnel.
Constantly weighing what bits of conversation you hear that can make it into a story without losing friends.
Thanks! your list makes me laugh.
K. Harrington
Reply
C.J. Harley
10/30/2008 12:22 pm
So true! I am guilty of ALWAYS having to go in a bookstore when I walk by one. Just gotta do it.
Reply
Kate Lord Brown
10/30/2008 3:45 pm
Oh yes … you think you are just being quiet and interested and everyone else thinks you are ‘special’/antisocial? I’d add:
– surreptitiously earwigging on buses/public transport
– having an almost fetishistic pursuit of the perfect notebook/pen
– if you see someone reading in a cafe, the uncontrollable urge to know what they are reading so intently …
Perhaps shared too much?! Are you NaNoWriMoing? I have just signed up and am very uncertain … how many words? by when??!
Reply
Linda
10/30/2008 4:38 pm
Ah, now you see, as a frugal writer living in 150 square feet (an RV), I have learned to be happy in a bookstore without buying, to use libraries, and the like. I’ve been through two HUGE book purges in my life, so I like to give books I am done with away and keep just a few special ones. ;)
Also, I never miss sunny days. That’s what laptops and wireless are for–but then, living beneath a mountain and beside a river, I’m seldom short of inspiration. *grin*
I do have this trait though: If someone talks to me while writing, I might make polite “mmm” noises but I won’t know what you actually said until you say “but you SAID I could buy the Lambourghini!”
Reply
Linda
10/30/2008 4:40 pm
Kate: It’s 50,000 words, starting at midnight, November 1st, and submitted by midnight, 1st December. 1667 words a day.
The book “No Plot? No Problem!” is well worth the money.
Reply
Charlotte
10/31/2008 10:29 am
I’m loving the additions to the When One is Born a Writer…list, keep ’em coming and I’ll compile them next week.
Kate, Nanowrimo is a blast! I’m not doing it this year, but I’d love to cheer you on and hope you’ll keep us updated on your progress.
And Derek, you are by no means a lazy Libra. Far from it.
Reply
Derek
10/31/2008 9:57 am
I can’t say I’ve got all those traits, especially the one about buring the midnight oil.. I am just a lazy Libra though. I certainly rise with the dawn – or usually way before it, and my computer doesn’t think I’m too anti-social and my wife… Well, she’s too busy in her little room! :-)
Reply
Kathleen McDade
10/31/2008 4:52 pm
I’m not sure if I should be proud or hiding my head in shame because I fit so many of these! :-) BTW, I’ll be doing NaNoWriMo, too.
Reply
rebecca
11/01/2008 12:12 am
I believe all those bullet points apply to me.
Reply
Malcolm R. Campbell
11/04/2008 7:15 am
One also knows s/he is a born writer when his/her muse is always tangled up in his/her thoughts.
Malcolm
Reply
Looking Back, and More Important, Looking Forward | Charlotte Rains Dixon
11/03/2015 9:18 am
[…] When One is Born a Writer. This one got so many great responses I did When One is Born a Writer […]
Reply