In this world of contracts you are never at liberty to proclaim yourself one thing or another until your stature has been consolidated in the eyes of your peers. Once you've been referred to as a writer by a jury (unofficially speaking, of course) of your peers, you can rest at least knowing that your evidence of skill and dedication was proof enough to see you emerge from the abyss of anonymity and into the ranks of recognised contributors to the craft.
It is human nature not to trust or believe someone simply at their word. If a person were to go outside one morning and tell everyone on the street as lucidly as possible that they were Jesus Christ incarnate the degree of scrutiny leveled on them would be immense and would result in widespread dismissal of that individual's righteous claim. And here we have a real dilemma. You can know your role among the great billions at heart, but you won't become your part until you've won over the minds of the masses - a surprising wedge of the final cut of writers thus far have only 'become' since their deaths.
But don't mistake me for preaching fame and fortune, far from it. What I'm saying is there must be evidence to support your claim to be a writer, there has to be proof that you aren't just a raving lunatic in a sea of unfathomable faces. Our trajectories are ours and ours alone to steer, and if you keep a steady hand and have those invaluable pinches of salt at the ready you will find your own way and enjoy it too. My answer to the question of this entry's title is blunt and to the converse. I am not a writer, yet; but I am becoming one, sentence by sentence, day by day.
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