Are you thinking about being a writer? Or maybe you’ve been writing for a while, but you still doubt that you’re a writer. How do you even know if you are one?

First, let me ask one simple question… do you write? It doesn’t matter what it is… essays, novels, poems, flash fiction, biographies, blog posts, scripts, magazine articles, or anything in between. If you write, then you are a writer.

Now, that’s the more obvious test, but it probably won’t help you if you’re truly struggling with this question. Because, no matter how much you write, there’s still that little voice inside of you that tells you that you’re not a writer.

There are many reasons why people don’t think they can call themselves writers. Maybe you aren’t able to write very often. Maybe when you do write, you can only manage a page or two. Maybe you don’t think you’re “good” at it. Maybe other people don’t like what you write.

Maybe you’re not published, you can’t get published, or you have no plans of publishing. Maybe you can’t make a lot of money from your writing. Maybe writing feels hard sometimes. Maybe you don’t like certain parts of the process.

Maybe you don’t think you’ll ever write anything truly spectacular. You’ll never be like Charles Dickens or one of those great authors. Maybe you don’t think your writing will make an impact on the world—or on anyone, for that matter.

If this is sounding familiar, don’t worry. You’re not alone. So many writers—no matter how accomplished they seem—struggle to think of themselves as true writers.

So how can you know if you really are a writer? Is there some test or exam you can take to determine it? Is there some initiation you have go through? Does some higher authority in writing have to endorse you as a writer?

Or maybe it’s a lot more simple than that. Maybe there’s a lot more of you out there who are writers, even if you wouldn’t dare call yourself one.

I’m going to ask a series of questions, and I want you to answer them honestly. And if even some of these are true, you just might be a writer.

Do you love writing?

Sure, you might not enjoy every aspect of it. You might feel tied to it sometimes. But, at the end of the day, do you love it? Do you lay awake sometimes thinking about new ideas? Do you get excited after writing an inspiring line of dialogue? Do you put aside time in your busy life to jot a few words down because you genuinely enjoy doing it?

If the answer is yes, then you are a writer. If you are so passionate about writing that nothing can keep you from your pen, you are a writer.

Do you want to write?

This doesn’t mean you don’t sometimes stare at a blank page with an even emptier mind. It doesn’t mean you don’t dread writing that one scene in your book. Do you still want to write? Do you daydream about it when you’re away from your desk? Do you find inspiration everywhere to the point where you have to write it down?

Again, you are a writer. Yes, life gets in the way. Yes, you have to work your job and pay your bills and fill your car with gas. But at the back of your mind somewhere, there’s always that yearning to write something… like the words have to come out.

Are you serious about writing?

Is writing just a childhood hobby you outgrew? Is it monotonous routine? Or is it more than that? Do you labor over description and wording and characters? Do you put in time and effort because you want to get that scene just right?

Then you are a writer. It doesn’t matter to you if people see or accept your work or not… you write and improve your writing because you are serious about it.

Do you have the mind of a writer?

Do you find yourself spinning tales in your head? Do characters come and go through your mind as though they’re real people? Do you find yourself inspired by the writings of others? As if maybe, given the right opportunity, you could write something like that.

You are a writer. Having a writer’s mind is something that, largely, cannot be taught. The grammar, the technique, the structure… these can be learned and improved upon. But that creativity and wonder of the fictional world is a gift many wish they could have.

Do you have some raw talent?

You may not be a prodigy, or the author of the next great classic. But every aspiring writer I’ve met has at least one strength. Oh, you’ll have weaknesses, too. And those will take work to grow past and learn from.

Yet, though it’s important to pinpoint your weaknesses, you also have to find your strengths. And, trust me, if you’re a writer, you have strengths. You might come up with dimensional characters… you might write vivid descriptions… or maybe you can structure a plot down to the last point.

It’s easy to get caught up in what you’re not good at. But make sure to recognize what you are good at, and use those strengths to write better works.

Do you want to keep learning?

Every writer knows they haven’t arrived. In fact, the more you write, the more aware you are of your flaws. You might keep falling, but do you get right back up? If someone tells you your poetry is terrible, do you work to write a better poem?

Do you seek to learn from criticism? Do you research and read so that your writing can improve? If you do, then you are a writer. Out of all of the things you could be doing with your time… out of all of wells of knowledge you could have drawn from, you chose to learn to be a better writer. And that is a dedication many people don’t have.

Do you have words stuck in your head?

Do find yourself rhyming little lines of poetry? Do you put together a riveting plot while driving down the road? Do you come up with the most interesting characters and situations?

Sometimes, it’s hard to get those words out. It might take hours of writing and rewriting and editing before it’s halfway decent. But it will get easier, and if you can just learn to put what’s in your head onto the page, you will be an amazing writer.

Do you write for the right reasons?

Do you just want validation from others? Money and fame… these things are flighty and temporal. But if you write for something else bigger than that, you will never have a reason to quit.

God has gifted us with the ability to use words for great good or great evil. And if we want to live out our purpose on this earth, we will write for Him, and not for us or for anyone else. If you are doing this, then you truly are a writer.

Do you have something you want to tell the world?

I love the quote that says, “Fiction is the lie that tells the truth.” Whether we want them to or not, our words mean something. So if you’re going to write, you’d better make sure you have something worth writing about.

Every great work of writing has a truth (or the author’s perception of truth) behind it. And that’s what makes it so impacting. When you are so passionate about a truth that you toil over a few pages until every word is the best you can write, the world will listen up. They might not agree, but they will listen. Because, if nothing else, they can see that you, the writer, believe with all your heart that it’s true.

Do you keep writing?

Do you drag yourself out of bed an hour early, or stay awake late at night, or scribble down shower thoughts, or write a few paragraphs on your lunch break… just to write? Not because anyone told you to, or because you’re getting anything out of it—actually, you’ll probably be giving more to it.

You look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you’re not a writer. People ask you what you like to do, and you shrug and mumble something about pickle-ball. You crumple up pages and delete paragraphs, embarrassed that you would even dare to put words on paper. But yet you still write.

And if that isn’t the mark of a true writer, I don’t know what is.

So stop doubting yourself, square your shoulders, stand up tall, and call yourself what you are… a writer. A flawed writer, yes. An amateur writer, maybe. But you are a writer.

I hope this post was encouraging to you, and that it motivates you to keep writing and improving. If you have a reason to write—if you have a message to tell the world—then don’t let anything stop you from doing that.

Comment below what writing project you’re working on right now!