Lately, I have been pondering a couple of questions. Can I call myself a writer yet? Is writing art? At what point will people call me a writer?
According to a book I just read whatever is in your heart, you can call yourself. This book was not a self-help book, it was a book about publishing your first book. Just the some context. So, I can call myself a writer if I want to call myself a writer. But what does it mean to be a writer? As I gain more life experiences, being an artist, and being a writer intertwine. From a kid I was always been called an artist, my imagination ran wild with colours and stories of adventure. To be a good writer you have to be able to paint a picture with words.
The brainpower to construct a painting with a concept or a short story seems the same to me.
To be a writer, I feel you need to have the art of expression. When the art nerd in me hears the word expressionism when the word expression is mentioned. Expressionism was an art movement that predates Modern and Contemporary Art, in my opinion it was the first movement in art history which expressed feelings in an abstract way. My mind flashes to famous expressionism paintings; Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream, with its wild brushstrokes and grayish-green distorted screaming man, or, Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portrait staring at me. As if those paintings are reminding me not to go crazy, keep both of your ears.
Words explain, they help to tell stories. Words are in plain black font in uniform lines, they can describe a rainbow, a dream, or a bloody mess. Yet, words need to be ordered in a way to depict the right story. Written words are art, but the colour and meaning is in the words.
In a world where words, stories, pictures, marketing, and media all get mixed into a big melting pot, people do not really know how to deal with the overload of information. People forget ideas come from inspiration, nearly all things in life are related to art. All of those advertisements you see on TV and Instagram took a concept and some inspiration. An art example of everyday things being made into an art concept was when Andy Warhol created Campbell’s Soup Cans. He made the artwork simply because it was something he saw and used regularly, he like many others stretched the idea of what art really is. While we may not think about normal objects as art, there are is always a decision process when things are designed. People in creative industries realise art and words make the world go round.
Even writing stories that capture ‘real-life’ in a journalistic sense there is still a degree of creativity and imagination to capture moments in history. You have to write in particular styles for different purposes.
To answer my own question, people already call me a writer sometimes. But the real reason many people do not call me a writer is because I do not tell them I am a writer. It has been almost my little secret, that writing is something I do. Like many, I can wear many different titles it can be hard to pick one. Today and most days I am a writer in my heart.
I feel a touch rosy when I get to call myself a writer.
Rouchelle Gilmore 