Could Be Anyone

I had the pleasure of hearing James Rollins speak at a writing conference a few years ago. Among other things, I learned he was a veteranarian by trade and came to writing after establishing his first career.  I know another writer who retired from a medical practice to be a full time writer. Some writers are housewifes, business professionals, work in retail or any variety of careers in addition to their job as an author. 

A number of the writers I know are teachers as their day job. A few actually have language arts or journalism degrees.  Starting a seperate career as a writer doesn't seem like a long stretch from that background.  But not all writer have an education geared toward their literary endeavors. Though many take classes or attend conferences to learn the trade, only some go so far as to get that MFA or something similar.   A writer can be anyone.

As I sit in the BAM cafe preparing this blog I look around at the other patrons.  Three have laptops out, notebooks, papers and writing utensils scattered across the small wooden tables. Two others have stacks of books and magazines they're flipping through. Research? Idea search?  Are they writers?  How would I know?  Do writers look different than other people?

Thanks to required schooling, we are all writers though some of us are happier about than others.  But only a few lucky people get to pay their mortgage with their writing income.  Do you know a writer with a career you think is odd for a creative person? Is it you?