This is a question that haunts me. I have battled with calling myself a writer, but I am. I write, have written, and I’ll likely write until my last breath—not to sound dramatic, of course. It’s not that I believe this is the definitive mark of being a writer; I’m sure it’s not. However, it’s how I came to know that I am one.
A good writer? That’s still up for debate.I hope my ramblings will resonate with fellow writers and that it’s not just me who feels a little… unhinged. Not that I mind being unhinged; some of the most brilliant artists were, after all.
Here’s what I’ve concluded: writers are never satisfied. Our minds never rest. It’s both a gift and a curse, a lifeline and a downfall. I nearly wrote “Writers are never happy,” but “satisfied” feels more accurate. It doesn’t matter if a writer has written a bestseller or even an entire bestselling series. Just look at our time’s greatest writers; they still write. I know they write because they publish new work semi-regularly, and I also know that behind every publication are the thousands upon thousands of words they wrote that never saw the light of day. They could close shop, stop writing, and move to the Bahamas, but in 99% of cases, they don’t. They can’t.
I didn’t learn this crucial fact about myself before my late twenties, after 15 years of writing poems, stories, diaries, reflections, and so on. You might be starting to doubt my intelligence at this point, but this is the truth. I genuinely thought everyone was like me—that streams of song lyrics danced through everyone’s mind in the shower, that poems came to most people after a run, and that daydreaming fictional stories daily was just a normal part of life. I even assumed that having plot ideas interrupt every movie you’ve ever seen was something everyone dealt with. Apparently not. Turns out, not everyone lives in a constant swirl of words, and that’s when I realized: this is just who I am. A blessing, and a curse.
I think this is one of the reasons why so many writers have other proffessions and lifes before becoming a full time writer. It is such an integrated part of who they are that they dont realize it is a calling, or dont beleive it is something special.
It feels like fate, and I’m certain my claim about being a writer is true. For the skeptics, I have a list of authors who exemplify this idea. I started with a handful of examples from memory but quickly realized I needed help. I asked ChatGPT to expand my list, and compiled authors. Many began in other professions, carrying the richness of those experiences into their literary works. It only reinforces what I’ve come to believe: being a writer isn’t always a choice—it’s just who you are. I hope it can inspire to not wrestle with the idea of writing, but encourage to embrace it, whatever level or stage you are at.
1. Michael Crichton: Before becoming a bestselling author known for works like Jurassic Park, Crichton earned a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and briefly practiced medicine.
2. Arthur Conan Doyle: The creator of Sherlock Holmes was a practicing physician before turning to writing full-time.
3. Anton Chekhov: Renowned Russian playwright and short-story writer Chekhov was also a practicing physician.
4. Wallace Stevens: An acclaimed poet, Stevens worked as an insurance executive while writing poetry.
5. Franz Kafka: Kafka worked as a lawyer and later as an insurance officer while writing his influential works.
6. Lewis Carroll: Author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Carroll was a mathematician and photographer.
7. Henry Fielding: Before becoming a novelist, Fielding was a playwright and later served as a magistrate.
8. Robert Burns: The famous Scottish poet worked as a farmer and exciseman before gaining literary fame.
9. Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula, Stoker managed the Lyceum Theatre in London while writing.
10. William Carlos Williams: A leading modernist poet, Williams maintained a medical practice throughout his writing career.
11. Gillian Flynn: Before becoming a bestselling author of thrillers like Gone Girl, Flynn worked as a television critic for Entertainment Weekly.
12. Tana French: Prior to writing her acclaimed Dublin Murder Squad series, French was a professional actress, performing in theater and film.
13. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Before gaining international recognition for novels such as Half of a Yellow Sun, Adichie studied medicine and pharmacy at the University of Nigeria.
14. Paula Hawkins: Author of The Girl on the Train, Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning to fiction writing.
15. Khaled Hosseini: Before writing The Kite Runner, Hosseini practiced medicine as a physician.
16. Lisa Genova: Author of Still Alice, Genova holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and worked as a researcher before becoming a novelist.
17. Delia Owens: Before her debut novel Where the Crawdads Sing became a bestseller, Owens was a wildlife scientist and co-authored nonfiction works about her experiences in Africa.
18. Jojo Moyes: Prior to writing novels like Me Before You, Moyes worked as a journalist for The Independent newspaper.
19. E.L. James: Before gaining fame with the Fifty Shades series, James worked as a television executive.
20. Sally Rooney: Author of Normal People, Rooney worked as a teacher and in various administrative roles before her literary success.
20 authors who were wealthy, who still chose to be writers:
1. J.R.R. Tolkien: Though he had a comfortable academic career as a professor at Oxford, Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings and other works, driven by his passion for mythology and storytelling.
2. Leo Tolstoy: Born into Russian aristocracy, Tolstoy inherited vast estates and wealth but chose to write profound works like War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
3. Virginia Woolf: Coming from a wealthy family, Woolf had the financial means to live independently and wrote influential modernist works such as Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse.
4. Oscar Wilde: Born into a privileged family, Wilde could have lived off his inheritance but chose to write plays, novels, and poetry, becoming one of the most famous authors of his time.
5. Mary Shelley: Coming from a well-connected literary family and married to poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley was financially secure but chose to write works like Frankenstein.
6. F. Scott Fitzgerald: Born into an upper-middle-class family, Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby and other novels, despite not relying on writing as a primary source of income early on.
7. George Byron (Lord Byron): As a wealthy aristocrat, Byron could have lived a life of leisure but became one of the leading poets of the Romantic era.
8. Emily Dickinson: Coming from a prosperous family, Dickinson rarely published during her lifetime but wrote nearly 1,800 poems out of personal passion.
9. John Keats: Though from a modest background, Keats had financial stability through his family inheritance but pursued poetry until his untimely death.
10. Edith Wharton: Born into New York high society, Wharton had financial independence but wrote extensively, producing works like The Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome.
11. Sylvia Plath: Coming from a relatively privileged background and with academic scholarships, Plath could have focused elsewhere but instead devoted herself to poetry and writing.
12. T.S. Eliot: Though financially stable through his family and career in publishing, Eliot wrote iconic modernist poetry like The Waste Land.
13. Christopher Paolini: Coming from a supportive family who helped publish his debut novel, Eragon, Paolini wrote despite financial security at a young age.
14. Gertrude Stein: Wealthy and well-connected, Stein did not need to rely on income from her writing but became a leading modernist writer and art collector.
15. Beatrix Potter: Born into wealth, Potter wrote and illustrated The Tale of Peter Rabbit out of her love for storytelling and art.
16. Vladimir Nabokov: Born into Russian aristocracy, Nabokov used his wealth and background to write masterpieces like Lolita.
17. Haruki Murakami: Although not born wealthy, Murakami achieved early financial independence through a jazz club he owned before becoming a novelist.
18. Robert Louis Stevenson: Coming from a wealthy family of engineers, Stevenson wrote Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for creative fulfillment.
19. Agatha Christie: Born into a well-off family, Christie wrote over 70 detective novels, becoming one of the best-selling authors in history.
20. Herman Melville: Coming from a prosperous merchant family, Melville wrote Moby-Dick, driven more by intellectual curiosity than financial need.