11 Reasons Writing Is More Than Just a Job for Me
It’s who I am
I have been on the receiving end of those looks—half amusement, half disbelief—and every time it hits a little different. Sometimes it is humorous, but most times it is disheartening.
Some people scoff when they find out I’m a writer. You know, people will say things like, “What’s so special about writing? Even ChatGPT can do that now, right?” or “When are you getting a real job?”
It stings, not because they don’t get it, but because they think it’s that simple. That somehow, writing is just typing out words, and that’s all there is to it.
I used to shrug it off, but as time went by, it began to itch in my brain.
I wanted to be able to show what actually goes on in being a writer besides key-pressing on a keyboard. Writing isn’t just slapping words onto a page.
Writing’s a deeply personal process that pulls from every part of you—your thoughts, experiences, and emotions.
It is as much about planning, investigating, and analyzing as about stringing sentences together.
They don’t see the enormous number of roles we play.
- We are planners; we create structure before one word is written.
2. We are investigators, digging deep to find what we need.
3. We are linguists, making sure every word counts with a reason.
4. We are organizers; we manage chaos and ideas bouncing in our heads.
5. We are interpreters, helping readers make sense of something huge.
6. We are storytellers, weaving some form of narrative that connects.
7. We are psychologists; touching the deepest of emotions to cause feelings.
8. We are visionaries, seeing beyond this very moment.
9. We are educators, imparting knowledge.
10. We are problem solvers; there is always one way to bridge those differences in understanding.
11. We are advocates; we stand up for causes that matter.
And with all that said, I still can’t list everything without going over the word count.
But the truth is, we put our heart, soul, and everything into our work, and yet we get paid only for the words on the page.
Not everyone can be a writer. It is much more than a job. It is a commitment, the investment of your emotions, a piece of yourself that you shared with the world.
And that is something AI will never be able to replicate.