Musing: books - What makes you a writer?
Mar. 12th, 2009 02:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wilderthan"I'm not saying you should bother reading these, especially now that Koontz is openly being Christian and Stephen King thinks he is a writer, but I have a fondness for some of these books."
This, in a goodreads review, made me wonder what exactly people think the term "writer" means. I see plenty of people saying authors they don't like aren't "real writers". Stephen King isn't a real writer because he just writes horror. King isn't a real writer because he just writes stuff that'll be popular. J. K. Rowling isn't a real writer because I don't like her stuff. Stephanie Meyer isn't a real writer because she's a talentless hack.
For me, a writer is someone who writes. Simple as that. You're a writer if you do a little column in your local paper, you're a writer if you publish a bestseller every two months, you're a writer if you write one critically acclaimed book and then vanish into the ether. You're a writer if you only publish your fiction on your livejournal, or even if it never goes beyond your computer screen.
You can argue yourself blue in the face, but you'll never convince me that Stephen King isn't a writer. I happen to think he's not the talentless hack snobs like to dub him, but I've said all that in my reviews. And much as I hate her books, I have to admit, J. K. Rowling is still a writer.
But that's apparently not the only interpretation of the word "writer"? So what's yours?
This, in a goodreads review, made me wonder what exactly people think the term "writer" means. I see plenty of people saying authors they don't like aren't "real writers". Stephen King isn't a real writer because he just writes horror. King isn't a real writer because he just writes stuff that'll be popular. J. K. Rowling isn't a real writer because I don't like her stuff. Stephanie Meyer isn't a real writer because she's a talentless hack.
For me, a writer is someone who writes. Simple as that. You're a writer if you do a little column in your local paper, you're a writer if you publish a bestseller every two months, you're a writer if you write one critically acclaimed book and then vanish into the ether. You're a writer if you only publish your fiction on your livejournal, or even if it never goes beyond your computer screen.
You can argue yourself blue in the face, but you'll never convince me that Stephen King isn't a writer. I happen to think he's not the talentless hack snobs like to dub him, but I've said all that in my reviews. And much as I hate her books, I have to admit, J. K. Rowling is still a writer.
But that's apparently not the only interpretation of the word "writer"? So what's yours?
