Writing. Authors, when they arrange mental pictures and dialogue just so into a story, perform a version of voodoo magic.

But when do you call yourself a writer without worrying about the High Rise of the Shocked Eyebrows response? Or, more importantly, why do I care about the height of another person’s eyebrows?

Merriam Webster defines writer as:

one that writes

Merriam Webster goes on to define author as:

1 a : one that originates or creates.

I’m even published in a book.

Technically.

Okay, I was 11 years old and my story lives with several others in a Woodmen of America book. Still counts.

I’ve been testing it out; calling myself a writer around newish people, when appropriate in conversation using phrases such as, “I had my headphones in so I could write, and completely missed the thunderstorm.”

My observations, all eyebrows remained stable.

As of last night, the First Novel word count hovers near 5k.
I am not attempting to write; I am writing. I am a writer.

Take that, eyebrows.