Is it true that someone can not "choose" to become a writer, but that the profession chooses you?

Question

What is meant by that statement? It is what author Charles Bukowski said in one of his short stories, "would you suggest writing as a career"

Answer 1

Yes, it is almost a calling. If you are a true writer, you have to write. The plots and characters become real and you have to write them down.

Answer 2

Gunther Grass said, 'You can be a writer, but you cannot become one." Obviously anyone can write, but true writers are those who do so not for fame or money but because they must. Another great quote (I've forgotten the source, sorry) is "Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel like I should be doing something else". I am published far less than I am rejected, but it doesn't matter. Even if no one ever read my work again, I would still write. I can't help myself.

I know this view can sound hideously elitist, but I think it's true. There are writers, which is fine, and then there are writers.

I never suggest writing as a career; it's nearly impossible to have a career in writing, particularly fiction. If someone wants to write solely to make money or be famous then they shoudl give it up immediately; they will only be disappointed. True writers never ask if they should have a career in writing. It never occurs to them not to write.

Answer 3

Anyone can become a writer however it takes a touch of genius to pen something original.
Spelling and Grammar do come into it, but with technology being as advanced as it is today it makes it possible for everyone to create a coherent sentence.
What is needed to really make a career out of it is a fantastic imagination, a touch or wit and plenty of originality! If you are talking about story writing anyway.

Up to a point writing chooses you. However if I ever made a career out of it, it would be short lived because I wouldn't want to be pressured in to it. I write to please myself. Whether my writing is good enough to be published depends on the publisher and the demands of the public.
You either have the gift to captivate an audience or you don't!

Answer 4

That is only a perception and one voiced, rather often, by the pretentious and intentional authors who sometimes find themselves in need of justifying their work. Be that as it may, the more seriously you begin to take the craft, the more many writers see themselves seeking an outlet to explore all their demons to reach an understanding of literally everything. The writer becomes God, inventing and manipulating all the joy and suffering of these otherwise lifeless souls.

If that can be reduced to having 'been chosen' by some kind out-of-body-voice telling you to become God of a universe, it seems too simplified beyond ones' control. Writers choose Writing, and only some become Gods of a strange sort of cult--

Answer 5

In a way the statement is true - without an innate sense of flow and the "art" of words, one cannot become a great writer. Not to say that you will not write or be a "good" writer, but to be really great requires talent or genius.

Answer 6

It is true to a greater extent because a person who chooses to write may in some point of time lose the drive for being unsuccessful, while a born writer just loves it..no matter what

Answer 7

I think with the technological advances in using computers to write, everyone can be a writer, but only some will be really good at it. If you find yourself wanting to write for hours on end, and you have dreams of submitting work to get published, it might might mean that is a strong interest. If you end up submitting stuff and get rejected, but you want to keep writing anyway, it may mean that the profession is something that is "choosing" you or is still a high priority.

Answer 8

It's a bit of both, becomming a full time writer takes years of rejection, starts, stumbles. It's full of sacrifices, so in a way it's a vocation. Lots of people want to be a writer but only a few manage to become one.

Answer 9

You can't really just decide to be a writer. You have to have the passion for writing. So yes the statement is true.

Answer 10

Yes, it's true.It has to come to you , to be inspired by the things you lived, the people you met, the ideas and dreams you built up.Always write about what you know and be true to your calling.If you will be, you'll turn out a good writer.

Answer 11

I think it's arrogant to suggest that writing chooses you.
Obviously, you choose writing.