Who Writes It Bloggy Style?

I still don't actually know what a writer is, never mind if I am one. I suppose now that I'm in my second year of a creative writing degree, a lot of people would consider me a writer, but I don't particularly feel like one. To me, writing has always been the easy option, the guilty pleasure.

When, somehow, I did well in all my A-Levels, I decided that I didn't want to be thrown out into the world of work. Instead, I signed up for a creative writing degree, because to me writing isn't work. I'm sure I'll end up spending most of my life putting off growing up and becoming a responsible member of society, and following my somewhat unrealistic dream was just a part of that.

I don't think it's possible to have a single definition of what a writer is, or why they write. Emily Dickinson, now considered one of history's greatest poets, was barely ever more successful than someone like me, and most of her poems were written in private. On the other hand, John Cheever, whose talents are similarly recognised, wrote professionally and publicly - he famously said "I can't write without a reader. It's precisely like a kiss - you can't do it alone".

The fact that these two polar opposites have both received such acclaim is a source of encouragement to me. It shows that the building of worlds and stories that I have always revelled in, and felt drawn to, can be both a form of art and a way of life, no matter why you write.