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To Be a Writer — You Must Write
You can’t just be the thing without doing the thing — be it writer, artist, entrepreneur, etc.
The line between would-be writer and writer is clear. Have you written anything?
Okay, maybe the line isn’t quite that clear. Writing a plan is partial credit for the process of writing.
I have, for the majority of my writing career, been a pantser. Sit at the computer, start working on words and make it happen. Often, I had a character in my head, a vague plot notion, a scene of sci-fi, or something along that line. No specifics, but I would write.
From this I produced my Source Chronicles fantasy series, my Vapor Rogues Steampunk series, and the Void Incursion sci-fi series. At least 98% of the nonfiction blogs I write are also from the approach of the pantser.
I have friends who are planners. They will sit down and create a background, plot it all out, and create massive details — but until that’s done, they don’t write.
I have learned, however, that this IS writing. For the new Forgotten Fodder series, I planned everything out. I wrote up details for the background, then plotted each book chapter-by-chapter. It was just as much writing to do that as to actually write the books themselves.
