I Am a Storyteller, Hear Me Roar

Hi, all. I hope November is treating you all well so far. Are any of you participating in NaNoWriMo? If so, I hope that's going well, too. I thought about participating this year, but alas, I know I won't have much time to do any meaningful writing.

Now, today I want to discuss what being a writer means to me and to you. I meet a lot of aspiring authors and many of them say they don't consider themselves writers. Not yet, at least. So I ask them when they'll finally slap the label of writer on their foreheads and they say, "When I'm published". This idea also ties into the belief that "I'll never be a writer because I'll never be published". I always want to hug these people and shout, "You're a writer! You're a writer!" because I firmly believe if you love writing and are actively writing, then you are indeed a writer. There's no need to put so much emphasis on getting published, especially if it's diminishing your passion for crafting stories.

To me, being a writer means I'm a storyteller. I create characters, build worlds, write kissing scenes, and try to get my readers invested in the overall story, make them care. I am a writer because I write and I love what I write.

So here are my questions for you: What does being a writer mean to you? What do you hope to accomplish through your stories?