You know you're a writer when...

Just a fun little note I made on Facebook a while ago. Thought I might share it.


1. You can't sleep at night. You will never be able to sleep again unless this one part in your story you've been stuck on forever works out.
2. Every song you hear, you think "Hm... that sounds a lot like *this* character".
3. While learning about life in your sociology class, you relate everything to what you've written in your book. Also, it makes you feel better that these things actually do happen.
4. You compile a song list of every character's theme-song, and you rename those songs after those characters.
5. To derive off of number 4, you even create a soundtrack- as in instrumental music- that would fit your book. You even pick the composer who you think would be the best at making a similar soundtrack.
6. You already have all the actors and actresses who will play the roles of your character when the book becomes a movie.
7. You thought that because your book is set in a different country, you would learn that language. Bad idea.
8. You plan to move to that foreign country once you become rich and famous. Of course, learning the language isn't going very well, so your hopes are being quickly doused... .
9. When you meet someone with the same name as one of your characters, you freak.
10. You never want to get ready for the day, because your job is already sitting in front of a computer in your pajamas.
11. You constantly bug everyone you know on whether or not they've read your manuscript yet.
12. The first thing you say to your mother when you call her is how that one part in your book you've been musing over for forever finally worked out.
13. You and your best friend refer to yourselves as the two main characters of the book.
14. You know you'll never be as famous as J.K. Rowling, but that doesn't stop you from hoping.
15. You constantly worry that because something in your book is similar to something in another book, you'll get sued.
16. When your father surprises you by saying he's reading your manuscript, you love him that much more.
17. While sitting in class, you think to yourself "I'd rather be writing..."
18. Whenever someone tells you they like your book, it's equivalent to the effects of some illegal drug.
19. You get jealous when you read a book you think might be better than yours... .
20. You doodle the names of your characters when you're bored.
21. Half of these things a normal person- yes I say normal- won't understand, but all your writer friends will be laughing their butts off.

If you agree with any of these, post a comment about it. You'd be surprised how many authors have similar "quirks". 

The Beginning

A long time ago, I'm not sure when, my mother read an article in some magazine or maybe online about an interview with Stephanie Meyer. Now, let me make an immediate disclaimer that although I'm not a huge Twilight fan, her point was an interesting one that I can't help but look back on, and smile. She said something along the lines of a true writer doesn't write for whoever will read it, but will write even if no one reads it at all. Of course, another disclaimer is that this is based off of memory, and is not a direct quote from Stephenie Meyer. Honestly, it may not even be from Stephenie Meyer at all, but that isn't the point.
When my mom told me this quote, I nodded and said something like, "Yeah mom, cool."
At that terrific- note sarcasm- teenage point in my life, I was planning on being an actress, a singer, or something along those lines. I have talent in both acting and singing, but honestly, if you were to ask someone what they wanted their career to be, and they said...
"Oh, I want to be on Broadway!"
"I want to be the next Angelina Jolie!"
"Well I'm planning on getting a record deal... something like Katy Perry."
Be honest with me. Are you going to be utterly and completely supportive of them, or are you going to- inwardly- shake your head sadly and think that this poor girl/boy is going to get a wake-up call soon?
But of course, many people think the same thing about up and coming authors don't they?
It's nothing to be ashamed or angry about, because we all have a tiny Realist in us that is constantly shaking their fist. There is just something about knowing someone else that makes us automatically assume there is nothing truly extraordinary about them. Point? Well, I've kind of gone off topic, but the fact is that to this day, I think my mom knew something when she shared that quote with me, something that no one else but God knew yet. 
That I was going to end up being a writer.
It took quite a few years before I realized this for myself. I continued to participate in Musicals, Plays, Choirs, etc... , and toward the end of High School doubts began to settle in. When I went to college, was I really going to continue this? Did I have the guts? More importantly, was I really the right person for my dreams? Criticism scared the hell out of me, I had insecurities all over the place, and just bringing myself to go to an audition was like walking to my own execution. I told myself over and over again that this was what I wanted, and somehow it would happen. 
But, you know that cheesy quote? The whole "God works in mysterious ways?" Yeah, totally using that to help with my next part to this little story.
Turns out that, one of my obsessions coursing over several years was going to play in my benefit. Harry Potter. Loved the series, loved J.K. Rowling, and most especially loved a character who goes by the name of Remus Lupin. If you don't know who he is, then I have two things to say...
1) Shame on you.
2) I'm not going into details about who he is... find out for yourself. 
A hint is that this character made me very interested in Werewolves. And no, I'm not talking about Twilight werewolves. I'm talking about the real thing. The curse of the full moon, excruciatingly painful transformation, and loss of all human conscious mind while you become "the beast". So I wondered...
Are there any more werewolf stories out there like that.
Of course, you have Dracula, but that is more centered on Vampires- whom I have grown to have a particularly strong distaste for, FYI- and I was looking for the Werewolf. I really wanted to read a Werewolf story that focused more on the psychological aspect of things, that wasn't filled with...
1) Both Werewolves AND Vampires,
2) Twilight,
3) Sex,
4) Excruciating usage of the F-word, and,
5) Werewolves that really had no limitations to BEING a monster, I.E. slipping-out-of-your-skin-easy transformations and complete awareness during the entirety of their shape-shifting. 
Sadly though, all the books I found were just a combination of at least two of those no-no's. So what did I decide to do?
Well, to quote an author whom I am not familiar with, but really like the quote...
"If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." - Toni Morrison.
I think it's pretty self-explanatory, yeah?