Author or writer?

To answer the first question most people ask about my website - what is the difference between a writer and an author? To me a writer is a professional, technically competent creator of content - content that has to conform to the expectations of its genre and should serve a specific purpose.

To be an author, on the other hand, is to be inspired by the muse and to create content that amuses, excites, entertains and explodes. It is inspired and it seeks to hold its readers - captivated.

Most of my writing has been as a writer - marketing, copywriting, educational textbook writing, reports, proposals, reviews and workshops. Some of my published work, however, has been as an author - a playwright, poet and fancifulist. It is in this guise that I wrote the book on and for my son, Talk to Me, and my one-act plays in the early nineties.

Now that I'm semi-retired, I'm enjoying many other forms of authoring - writing a book on How to Quit Smoking, another on Writing Distinction Assignments for University and a personal favourite of mine - Grammar for the Soul for ESL learners.

Let's hope that the spirit of authoring will seep into the many other writing projects I have before me!

Blessings! H