Apparently, Twitter likes snark.

[lagilman]

An offhand comment I tweeted about six hours ago has resulted in, at last count, over two dozen retweets, and pushed about a dozen new people into my follow-trail.

*blinks*


The comment, off a Skype conversation, was thus:

When someone says they're a writer but never finishes anything... I'm like "yeah, and I'm an astronaut, I just don't go into space."

The rest of the conversation went something like this:

LAG: Am thisclose to saying "don't tell me what you're doing, show me what you've done."

Other Guilty Party: Yeah, I know at least half a dozen "writers" who never actually write. ....Everybody's got a book in them, but not everybody can get it out. Some can't get it out in one piece.

LAG: Some people, it's a picture book.

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Today's tally: about 2k new words written on PSI #4, a meeting with the tax guy, some prep for RT next week (ack!), and a light workout at the gym. Tonight, I really should work on "Praise the Devil." But, considering I have a cold, and crap sleep two nights running, maybe I'll just have some Scotch and an early night...

Comments

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

If you keep this up, I might end up signing up for Twitter after all. ;-)

[girasole.livejournal.com]

I am sorry you are sick.

Writers write. Writers write. Writers WRITE.

I will say to the Other Guilty Party and thee, however, that writing a picture book is very difficult, and each word is like setting a gem. There are lots of people, many of them famous, who seem to think writing for children is easy. They make me gag.

Girasole, picture book reviewer, among other things.

[lagilman]

writing a picture book is very difficult,

Yes mom, we know. However, if I said "comic book," comic book writers would come to my house and hurt me. Picture book writers just scowl.


[and as someone who has written MG, I would never say writing for kids is easy. Kids pay much more attention than adults do.]

[eclectic-writer.livejournal.com]

I'm not quite sure I agree with the singular quote, but in the context of the rest of the conversation I do. If I tell people I'm a writer invariably I get some comment about how they want to publish their memoirs someday, sounding for all the world that writing and the publishing world is easy.

Of course, this is only coming from a writer who's yet to finish anything but has done her research for the future. ;-)

[lagilman]

I took some flack for my quote, but after years of hearing variants of "I'm working on my screenplay" said over and over but never actually seeing anything finished, much less submitted, I stand by it.

It's easy to say "I'm a writer." Maybe too easy. But getting a neat idea and writing a rough draft is the fun/easy part. Being a writer means doing ALL of it. And then doing it again. And again. And again.

[note: I said nothing about being published. Getting published does not make you more/less a writer. It just means you've reached a certain level of success AS a writer]