Writing is a tricky business

On many accounts.

Firstly, it is so often said these days that not everyone who writes is a writer. People aspiring to write face a great deal of criticism, which is not always easy to accept. They risk being labelled graphomaniacs; they risk to hear “It’s rubbish”; they risk to have rejection letters in their mail box. Not a very secure position.

Secondly, the publishing business gets tougher and tougher each year. With lots of manuscripts arriving on their doorstep and shelves in the bookstores filled with volumes, publishers are very conscious about what will bring them good money. And the chances to get through look pretty thin sometimes. I did a creative writing course and we had the chief editor as one of the lectures. Lots of the things he said were very entrepreneurial. Unfortunately, many people see you as a writer only when you have paperbacks with your name on them placed on the stand in a bookstore.

But for me the most shocking thing was when a new pen pal I got appeared to be much more interested in the fact that I teach at the university than in me writing stories (bear in mind, he was not the only one). I don't even mention how people tend not to ask what kind of stories I am creating. As if being a writer nowadays is as mundane as cleaning your room or going to the cinema (the latter may actually cause more enthusiasm than your bits of writing).

Nevertheless, writing is not a mere hobby, even if the only audience you have is a few readers on the net. Writing is a state of mind and the way of living. Writing is when you feel a day is lost if you haven’t penned down a line. Writing has its own spirit and it does not let go of you no matter where you are or what you do.

Being a writer is like a genotype. You cannot ignore it.