You Know You're A Writer When...

You can’t read a book without finding all the typos

You can’t read a book without finding plot flaws

You can’t read a book without thinking “I would have done that differently”

You own at least three different books about writing

You talk about the voices in your head without worry of being committed

You converse with the voices in your head

You love to talk to other writers about the voices in your head, because they understand you

You have been heard to say “That sounds like the title of a book…”

You have been heard to say “That would make a good book…”

You have ever jotted down the name of a person, place or road to keep for your next book

You have at least one friend with whom you discuss people who don’t really exist

You have at least one friend with whom you discuss places that don’t really exist

You have at least one friend that doesn’t really exist

You have at least one friend with whom you've discussed writer's block in depth

You’ve ever contemplated the best way to remember where an apostrophe, comma

or semicolon belongs

You’ve rewritten the same paragraph five times or more

You’ve rewritten the same page five times or more

You’ve rewritten the same story five times or more

Your computer is named after a legendary author

Your child is named after a legendary author

Your main character is named after one of your children

Your child is named after your main character

You feel naked without a pen and paper, just in case

You love the feel and look of blank paper

You enjoy experiences others would find intolerable, because they give you experience to

write about later

You’ve ever contemplated the perfect bank robbery, murder or government overthrow

You can’t stand a certain author because they “ruined” the story you liked the beginning of

You loved the movie “Secret Window”, “Paris When It Sizzles”, or “Funny Farm”

because you can identify.

You’ve ever told someone else “You should write that!”

You've ever told someone else "I should write that!"

You have ten or more Facebook friends you’ve never met in person, but know because they write, too

Or, simply, you know you're a writer because you do!

(Originally published in 2008, updated 2015)