Sometimes you have no idea where you are going, but you know you are making progress, because as you walk you see the trees move away from you.
1
Writing is a daily habit, like eating or sleeping. I wake up and I write. Or during the day, I have an idea and I write. I no longer have to force myself to write, like I had to a year ago.
2
In your spare time you would rather write than do anything else. The prospect of seeing a film is not as appealing as it used to be, not when the story awaits on the desk, unfinished.
3
Solitude does not bother you. There are days when I do not talk to anyone for up to 12-16 hours.
4
When you want to understand your thoughts and emotions you write about them. These days I feel that thinking on paper – as I call writing about my thoughts and emotions – is the only clear way of thinking.
5
Your eyesight is getting worse. I do not have to wear glasses full-time yet, but it’s only a matter of time before I do.
6
When reading, you spot sentences that you could have written better yourself. This is enjoyable, especially when the author is famous.
7
You feel proud when you recommend yourself as a writer to a person of the opposite sex. ‘Hello, I am Vincent and I am a writer.’ ‘A writer? Do you mean journalist? You write for newspapers?’ ‘No, I write stories, I mean I am not famous yet, but I hope to be in the near future.’ ‘How cool! I like stories…’
8
Your acquire peculiar habits. I talk to myself aloud about literary things when I think nobody is hearing. I dip my hands in hot water to warm them before writing
9
You are no longer shocked when you read what you have written the day before, only distressed. Two years ago, each time I read what I had written on the previous day, I wept. Today, when I read what I wrote yesterday, I only hang my head and sigh.
(This post was first published last year.)What other signs would you add to this list?
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Filed under: Writing Tagged: Books, Literature, Writer, Writing
