  For Authors
This week: Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Thank you for welcoming me into your virtual home as the guest host of this week’s WDC For Authors Newsletter.
Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good.
William Faulkner
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Greetings!
I'm excited to be here with you as I approach my fourth year here in our Community, having arrived on a cold December evening, following the lyric cacophany of voices beckoning, then welcoming me, as a writer, a peer. From the moment I uttered my first words in print, opened my portfolio, I shared my words and proved myself a writer.
So, what makes me a writer? The simple fact that I must write today, as I did yesterday, and I will need to do tomorrow. Think about it, whether you write prose, poetry, fact, fiction, snatches of imagined conversation (screenplay, perhaps); if you find your day feels more 'complete' or 'whole' having written something than not having written, you're a writer. You have the passion for the written word, or it's got you.
On the other hand, you may know someone with a degree in journalism, or communications, who doesn't use his/her skills, or sees them merely as a 'job' to be done and set aside, that's not a writer. The 'architect' with a degree and stamp who never designs or creates but merely revises a blueprint to meet client or contractor demands is an architect in name only, because he or she does not have the passion, the need, to be the architect of, to create, a building or complex or facility. The degreed 'journalist' who doesn't put pen to paper, or who only writes the article assigned by the boss, or who says he/she will write 'someday' is not a writer.
So, you are here because you need to write and you want to make your voice heard and understood by use of the written word; Create your world of words. You are all writers!
We're agreed, we are all writers! Now, most of us, as well, I believe, are Authors. Writer vs. Author, aren't the terms interchangeable? Some writers use the term 'authored' to sound literate (i.e., I authored a poem. = I wrote a poem.) But the difference I think is in the details.
A writer becomes an author by writing and learning.
I've heard from several writers, who were quoting other writers, that one must write a million words before being considered a 'real' author, or a 'good' writer. Now, I think the word count may be arbitrary, but the premise behind it makes sense. Think about it, the more you walk, the more fit your body becomes physically - leaner, with more energy, better balance. The more you write, the more fit your writing becomes - tighter, with more energy, better balance.
Every day you write, you create new worlds in verse or prose, or define and create the world you see and hear. Each day you are learning more about yourself and how you define the world around you. With each stroke of that old number two or ballpoint, with every keystroke, you create!
The author also returns to his/her creation and tends it - pruning excess imagery, tilling scenes and stanzas that they grow stronger, more lush, vivid, that others as well as the author can understand and experience its intent, its depth.
So first you write, then you revise (remember, revising is also writing ), and when you feel ready, you share the story, poem, article, screenplay, novel, with your peers, who will comment upon your technique and their understanding of your intent. Then, you will edit, incorporating some of their suggestions or answering some of their questions - note, I say some, as it's your creation. You are the writer of this particular story, poem, article, etc.... the author of your creation. So you are the one who will revise (writing again) and then perhaps submit for a chance at print or online publication, becoming a Published Author.
Although I began writing when I first learned the business end of a pencil, it was decades later and with the encouragement of my peers, that my writing evolved in technique and breadth and I became first an Author, then a Published Author.
So, fellow writers and authors, I thank you for your encouragement, critique, and welcome, and ask that you continue to offer the same for the writers in our Community, each the author of prose, poetry, factual or fiction.
Keep Writing!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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For your pre-holiday reading pleasure, share in the stories and verse of a few of the writers in our Community ~ they'll likely return the favor{e:smile
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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As a guest, I don't have a formal Ask and Answer, but I have a question of you.
 Do you as a writer feel that a narrower or broader focus to your writing helps your writing skills and technique.
Is a writer more likely to see publication if he/she specializes in one form, or genre, or style of writing, or is a broader expanse of writing more likely to get one 'noticed' and in print?
There is no wrong or right response here; but I get to come back next month and would like to explore the answers with you; and until then, fellow writers and authors, keep reading, and writing ^_^
Next week, your host will be Vivian 
Until we next meet,
Keep Writing!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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For Authors: December 16, 2009 Issue [#3449]
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