The difference between a writer, an author, and a novelist.
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The difference between a writer, an author, and a novelist.

By David Joel Miller, writer, author, blogger, and mental health professional.

Are there differences between a writer, an author, and a novelist?

I think there are. The first two activities, writing and blogging, both philosophically and practically, require different skills. Blogging, in my opinion, is writing a topical essay. I suppose it’s possible to write a blog that includes only short stories or excerpts from other writing. Still, the moment you begin to try to discuss what you’ve written or describe your process, you move from telling a story to discussing a topic.

Writing and similar creative processes are for sharing.

The term writing is getting a little confusing. I suppose it started with any effort to record something in a medium that could be referred to later. Cave paintings may be either art or writing, depending on your point of view. Cuneiform on clay tablets, hand-drawn characters on parchment or skins were other ways of keeping track of information for later reference.

Today, I think the word writing can refer to any number of ways of creating something meant to be consumed later by others. Most of my writing, whether nonfiction, blog posts, or novels, is dictated. Even videos and movies usually begin as a written script that is transformed into a sound-with-picture format. I listen to quite a few podcasts, some of which include PowerPoints or other visuals. These media mix the skill of writing with other forms of communication.

I’m inclined to be generous and consider any of these efforts to convey information or a point of view or to entertain as falling under the heading of writing. The videos for my YouTube channel (Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel) usually start with a written outline and progress from there. But I think the other two terms, blogger and novelist, refer to some very specific types of writing.

My first blog was counselorssoapbox.com

At the beginning of my writing journey, I wrote exclusively for my blog. That blog, counselorssoapbox.com, continues to inhabit the Internet and I’m still writing articles for it. In the beginning, the blog was primarily technical, meant to describe particular mental health issues and to share the things I was learning in my journey with other counselors and therapists. Over time, I expanded that to include articles about positive psychology, having a happy life, and adjusting to all those transitions or bumps in the road of life.

The term novelist has a different meaning than the other two.

Now, for those of you who were brainwashed by your elementary school teachers who kept telling you to look it up in the dictionary, I would encourage you to double-check with them which dictionary they are using. People who want you to look up a word in the dictionary to find its meaning have things backward.

The way dictionaries were first made was to look at all the ways people used words in sentences, primarily written works or oral speeches, which were then printed, and based on all these different usages and their frequencies, the dictionary makers offered us a variety of meanings for each and every word. I fear that today’s search engines are limiting the ways in which we are allowed to use some words.

I have a wonderful old Dictionary and Cyclopedia published in eighteen ninety-eight and I enjoy looking up words in it. Most of those words have long lists of various meanings that have been attached to a given word. Remember that the English language keeps changing. In eighteen ninety-eight, there was no such thing as an allergy. In the nineteen thirties, when the AA big book was written, allergy was defined as an excessive reaction to something. I suppose, in theory, that could be either good or bad. Today, we mostly use the word allergy to mean an adverse reaction to something. And yes, I confess, on occasion, I still pull out a dictionary and look up an unknown question word.

The dictionary definition of a writer is relatively simple.

A writer is someone who writes things down. In modern usage, we commonly think of this as somebody who writes things down as an occupation and expects to be paid for their work or as an artist who writes for their own pleasure. But those writings aren’t necessarily meant for other people’s consumption. And what they write can be purely utilitarian, like the instruction booklets that accompany almost everything you buy these days. The primary function is to give you something to either lose or throw away.

I think writing blog posts and their close cousins, short videos and shorter shorts, not the wearable kind though, are also important functions of writers.

So, how is that different from being an author?

I think that authors all began as writers. They want to record something. The largest difference is that authors primarily write things they expect others to read. Usually, when I think of an author, I think of someone who has written either a long scholarly dissertation, journal article, or they have written a book-length manuscript.

I think you cross the bridge from being a writer to being an author when you publish the work and send it out into the world for others to read. Authors who have written books and articles primarily seek to inform or entertain.

What’s different about a novelist?

A novelist sets out to write an amazing thing called a story. In its simplest form, the story is the tale of how someone did something. We believe that humans, and possibly other species, have been telling stories to distill experience and illustrate how one should live for millennia. Some stories are cautionary, such as don’t do this, or you will be punished, while others are longer tales that illustrate all the varieties of being.

Novelists don’t always get the respect that other writers and authors are given. I suppose it is because novelists seek to convey information by telling an enjoyable story. It certainly is more fun to have fun than to simply be lectured about dull facts.

I think that, eventually, all writers aspire to cross the bridge to become published authors. And those who seek to tell stories either write short stories or become novelists. Some nonfiction works also read more like fiction because of their characterization and details. Biographies, memoirs, historical accounts, and similar nonfiction works are much more enjoyable to read when they tell us a story.

Have I put you to sleep yet?

The idea for this post started with a conversation with a family member when I drew a distinction between being a writer and being an author. Something I felt I had crossed when my first book became available on Amazon. Any thoughts about the way we use these words? Do you have any thoughts on the topic you’d like to share? Please feel free to leave a comment or to use the Contact Me feature.

Staying connected with David Joel Miller.

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For more information about David Joel Miller’s work in mental health, please visit the counselorssoapbox.com website.

For my videos on mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, please see Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel