The Mind of the Writer

We are all writers. It is a form of communication that transcends time and distance, and nearly everyone in the modern world learns to harness language for use on the page and screen. We write e-mails, text messages, office memos, college essays, love notes, to-do lists, journal entries, and so much more. Yet some of us take writing so seriously that we endeavor to call ourselves "writers." What is the difference between the writer and others? It cannot be simply that the writer writes, or earns a living by it; others write as well, and many claim the title "writer" well before are paid a cent.

The difference is in the mind of the writer, which holds a fascination for words and a reverence for experience, actual or imagined. It is a place where expression is paramount, necessary; not because its experiences are particularly special, but because language seeps in and through them, demanding the recognition garnered by writing them down. For others, writing is a means to a clear and limited end, such as earning a grade or reminding Grandma not to bake anything in the broken oven. If your writing is driven by a desire that goes deeper than achieving a simple goal, and this desire is fulfilled only by writing, then your mind is that of a writer.

In the few thousand years since writing was invented, it has proliferated exponentially. There are hundreds of thousands of books published each year and far more writing published in periodicals and websites. Only a sliver of these writings will stand the test of time and still be read hundreds of years from now; but the mind of the writer overlooks or dismisses this fact and finds lasting satisfaction in writing that can come from no other source.