Chuck Wendig’s recent post about “aspiring” writers raises a whole heap of good points, and really has encouraged me to think about carving out more writing time (tricky at the moment, with parent teacher meetings but they’re pretty much done now). I know I don’t want to be a full time writer at the moment, as teaching is still too much fun, but I reckon I’ve a few books in me if I focus and pound them out. Short pieces are far more fun though, and easier to complete, so the temptation is there to just do them instead.
But more than that, it made me think of how you define yourself as something. Long long ago, back in the halcyon days (or bad old days, depending on your point of view), I could most definitely define myself as a gamer... it was quite common for me to play for a good 6-8 hours a day on a week day, and double that on a Saturday or Sunday.
I still think of myself as a gamer, even though nowadays, I would guess I’d spend maybe 2 hours a week gaming maximum. And the last game I bought was Bookworm Adventures 2 (an awesome game sort of like combative version of scrabble) released by Popcap Games, and I’ve been loving Unicorn Dash on my phone, with its vibrant colours and simple - yet layered - game play (there’s only two things you can make the unicorn do, jump and smash through obstacles). Often people who play computer games are divided into camps, the hardcore and the casual. In the days of TaLA and NWN, I described myself as a hard-core casual player. By that I meant I know that I knew I didn’t have any great skill, but I enjoyed myself immensely, put in as many or more hours than the guys who had the leet skillz, and for the parts of the game I was interested in I had an extensive, encyclopedic knowledge.
Unicorn Dash - as bright and garish as my shirts.
So if by harking back to an earlier time I am still able to call myself a gamer, can I project myself forwards in time and consider myself a writer? I guess so, if I especially if I up my output. At the moment though, TOR is being screwy, so I am having trouble posting comments to blogspot, so I don’t even know if I’ll be able to put this post up, too. But even if I can’t, that won’t stop me from writing.
Snellopy you sound like the sort of writer I am! I want to write, I have books inside desperate to burst out but no time at all! I love your side comment 'one minute writer' it sums me up :-) So on the odd occasion when I call myself a writer to other people I feel a bit silly and embarrassed. But hey, like you I have a blog stuffed with writing (I even have a diploma in lit and creative writing) so we must be writers and really should be proud!
ReplyDeleteI think of you as a writer and I enjoyed this post. Some self reflection now and then is a good thing. Your unicorn game looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteWhether or not you call yourself writer, there will always be people who agree and disagree with you. I love the determination you express in your last line. Even with technical difficulties, that won't stop you from writing.