What was the Defining Moment in Your Writing Career?

I am a Writer!
a guest post by Stephanie J. Gates

I am a writer. I AM a writer. I am a WRITER.
I write this because it helps me claim what is rightfully mine. I sometimes have difficulty owning the title of writer because somewhere stuck in my head is this definition of a writer as some lofty, unattainable position.

I can only be a writer if I’m famous, or if my profession says that I’m a writer (screenwriter, playwright, speech writer etc.) And I don’t know where this thinking comes from or why it’s been so hard to dislodge it from my brain. Even though I have published pieces, and I’ve taught writing to both adults and children ownership escaped me until now.

Only recently have I moved into the home of the writer; before that I was merely a renter passing through the house but not quite settling into the space. But what’s especially weird is that I’ve lived in this house for as long as I can remember; I just didn’t own it.

My friends and family describe me as a writer, and sometimes it still sounds strange to my ears. My oldest childhood friend can still remember the story I wrote in sixth grade about an upside down world. In eighth grade I took second place in a citywide essay contest. I find writing in everything. I’m always looking, listening for the story, for something to write about. So, I am a writer. I write, rewrite and write again. In my head, on paper, on the computer I am always composing.

I am a writer because it is what I do.

Pen and Prosper scribes, when did you KNOW that you were a writer? Was it with your first byline? Your first paid assignment? Or the moment you felt the inescapable rush of penning your thoughts for public view? Do tell...

BIO:
Stephanie J. Gates is an educator and freelance writer. Her work has appeared in various online and print publications.
Publishing credits include: Being Single Magazine, N'DIGO, Mahogany Magazine, and Black Eye Peas for the Soul.