7 Annoying Rumours About Writers/Writing

Let’s just dive right into it:

1. Writers Are Crazy and Introverts

This is usually the first assumption people have of writers. That we talk to papers rather than human beings doesn’t make us crazy, and because we choose staying home to finish a book over clubbing doesn’t mean we are introverts. Stop saying that! I’ll punch you. ?

2. Writers Are Nerds and Have No Social Life

Writing is an intimate art and writers read a sh*tload of books to improve on their writing and fuel their passion for it. Somehow, this has been translated to: “Writers are nerdy. They read a lot of big, fat books, never go out and only hang out with each other”. The only reason this rumour is annoying is because the original definition of ‘nerds’ has been modified to mean ‘boring people who are only interested in acquiring knowledge and nothing more’. So unfair! ?

3. Writing Is Not a Career

*hisses in Chimamanda and rolls eyes in Achebe*

Excuse me! What is wrong with you? Are you even in this century? Writing is as legit a career as any other, and has unjustly been underrated over the years. That has to stop. Who put together the newspapers you buy and read every morning? Who makes the weekly and monthly magazines you are subscribed to, happen? Who puts together  the articles  you read on various blogs and websites on the internet? Stop being ignorant jare!

4. Writers Are Not Really Writers Until They Have Published a Book

This right here, is the silliest in the book. Whenever I hear this statement, I usually feel like sinking my teeth into the person’s jaw. ? What sort of roasted-corn mentality is this? Statements like this are controversial and only mount unnecessary pressure on writers. Publication is a choice, and it in no way determines a person’s writing status. If you are guilty of this, please stop thinking like a stick of sugarcane. Writers are writers, published or not.

5. Writers Are Old-fashioned

People see writers as this group of weirdos who have lost touch with modern day trends and whatnot. If the minds of most people could be explored, one finding will be that their physical impression of writers is ‘a set of individuals who wear glasses, dress awkwardly and are addicted to sweaters even in the summer’. Writers should not be subjected to this lifestyle. We slay too! ? Just check out these guys

6. Writers Are Too Emotional

Is it your emotional? ? By the way, this isn’t necessarily true. Whoever wants to be emotional will be. Intense display of emotions is not specifically linked to writers only. Doctors and lawyers can be emotional, even NEPA officials who cut people’s wires can be emotional after they get electrocuted. So leave us alone and stop spoiling our market.

7. Writers Are ‘Undateable’

A very long time ago, I read an article on a website about this and the writer made about 11 points to buttress his opinion. I was pretty upset because it didn’t make sense and the article was more like a waste of the English alphabets. The first step to having a happy life is dating a writer. We are consumed with our own little world, so we won’t be clingy and imagine how awesome it would be, having to wake up to the sweetest poems every morning. So, ignore this rumour and shoot your shot with a writer today! ?

Which of these rumours can you relate to? How true do you think they are?