Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

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Writer Versus Author

12 Comments

Welcome to fellow 2k12/Apocalypsie AC Gaughen, who’s guest posting today!

I’ve always thought there was a difference between an author and a writer.  A big difference.  And it’s more than the difference between being published and not published.  For me, I really crossed the line between “writer” and “author” several years ago.

As a freshman in college, I was pretty sure I had things figured out.  I was majoring in philosophy and minoring in literature; I wanted to take creative writing but I was told I had to go through the paces of literature first before I could do creative writing exclusively.  That was frustrating, but not really that big of a deal–I wanted to major in philosophy and go to law school.  I didn’t really want to be a lawyer, but my dad always told me law school was an excellent education, and it sounded like an interesting challenge (clearly, I wasn’t half as smart as I thought I was). I was a hell of a debater in high school, great at public speaking and thinking on my feet.  If at some point I wanted to be a lawyer, I was always pretty convinced I’d be good at it (cough, arrogance, cough).

Writing was something that I considered to be part of me.  Since I was a little girl I was an obsessive writer, with the notebook collection to prove it.  It was stress relief, entertainment, escapism and my idea of a fun night all rolled into one.  I woke up early to write; I stayed up late after parties or studying.  I wrote during classes.  Every spare thought in my mind was about stories.

But I was convinced that writing would never be a viable career.  Specifically because I had been told this in no uncertain terms.  My advisor, my brother, the media at large.  My parents never told me it wouldn’t work–only that I couldn’t expect to ever make money at it.  I told myself that I was a writer in my core and nothing had stopped me thus far, nor did I need any additional money or validation.  I wrote for me, and that was that.

But then I went to Scotland in my junior year.  The teachers I had there spoke about literature like it was love; amid the damp Scottish winds, the bright yellow gorse against the gray clouded skies and the roses that bloomed through late December, there was a different attitude about life than anything I had encountered in the US.  The cobblestones and centuries-old buildings whispered to me that life is short, but limitless in its shine and potential.  The people there laughed at my American sense of capitalism, my notion that money should have anything to do with my career.

St Andrews, Scotland was the site of a religious mecca, and then a place of religious persecution.  It hosted raids and attacks, housed the bones of a saint, and welcomed to its shores princes and scholars and scientists.  At my college in the US, I felt like life was a candle in a hurricane lamp–small, essential, and contained.  In Scotland, I felt like the glass covering was removed and I could step close to the candle, curl my fingers around its light and feel the heat through my hands.  It inspired the greatest passion and the greatest commitment to that passion that I’ve ever felt.  

Life may be short, but it’s wondrous and dazzling and you can feel that by living your passions, committing to your dreams.  I think that’s the difference between a writer and an author.  A writer is someone who can use her words well, but an author is a writer with a vocation.  A calling.  A commitment.  I ended up living for almost four years in Scotland, and I learned how to leave doubt behind.  I learned how to be an author, and not just a writer.

—

AC Gaughen is a YA writer–ahem, scratch that, author–and her debut novel SCARLET is coming out with Bloomsbury/Walker on Valentine’s Day, 2012.  She hopes this means that everyone will fall madly in love with SCARLET; really, what is St Valentine good for if not book sales?  You can follow her on Twitter at @acgaughen, or check out her website at www.acgaughen.com

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Filed Under: authors, publication, the writing life

Comments

  1. Kristine Asselin says

    November 4, 2011 at 12:08 pm

    Inspiring post! I love that AC’s book is coming out on Valentine’s Day!

    I’ve always thought that to be an author, you have to own it. In other words, it’s all about attitude.

    It took me a long time to get there, and I’m still working on it. Actually, at the beginning it took a lot for me to say I was a writer.

    For others to believe you’re an author, you have to believe it.

    Off to follow AC Gaughen on twitter…

    Reply
  2. Sarvenaz Tash says

    November 4, 2011 at 12:36 pm

    Love this post, AC!!

    Reply
  3. Valerie Geary says

    November 4, 2011 at 3:02 pm

    Inspired! Particularly enjoyed: “The people there laughed at my American sense of capitalism, my notion that money should have anything to do with my career.” I think we miss out on so much by allowing money to make our decisions for us. Great post!

    Reply
  4. Liesl Shurtliff says

    November 4, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    LOVE this! We Americans are a tad obsessed with capitalism, aren’t we? I think I would enjoy Scotland.

    Reply
  5. Caroline Starr Rose says

    November 4, 2011 at 4:57 pm

    Isn’t this a fabulous post? I have to confess I begged Annie to let me run it on my blog. For the past six months, I’ve been collecting guest posts/interviews of 2k12 authors to then distribute to bloggers who’ve requested them. I loved this one so much, I just had to share!

    Val and Liesl, I agree. I have a friend who didn’t start playing an instrument until our junior year in high school, but he loved it so much he decided he wanted music to be his career. This meant lots of side jobs to make things work, but he later went on to join the Navy band and has just recently returned to the US after several years as a conductor in Italy! Watching him pursue his dream really influenced me to tackle my own.

    Reply
  6. Caroline Starr Rose says

    November 4, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    And… I just have to say I am dying to read Scarlet, Annie. xo

    Reply
  7. Joyce Shor Johnson says

    November 4, 2011 at 11:04 pm

    AC, I love this description! “The cobblestones and centuries-old buildings whispered to me that life is short, but limitless in its shine and potential.”

    Reply
  8. AC Gaughen says

    November 5, 2011 at 4:50 am

    Thank you everyone, and thank you especially to Caroline for posting this! This was exactly the dose of love I needed today! xx

    Reply
  9. Susan DiMickele says

    November 5, 2011 at 11:47 pm

    I love this too!

    Caroline — thanks for stopping by. I have a 10-year-old who is totally addicted to reading, so I’d love to help promote your book and other youth authors. (Also, would love your list as I’m running out of books for him to read…..) Please stay in touch!

    Reply
  10. Caroline Starr Rose says

    November 6, 2011 at 2:24 am

    Susan, likewise! I’ve written a few posts on boys and books with recommendations included. Off to find those links for you…

    Reply
  11. TerryLynnJohnson says

    November 6, 2011 at 9:38 pm

    WOW! and wow! I adore this post and now I really want to go to Scotland!

    Looking forward to valentines day!

    Reply

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