One of the most famous lines from Shakespeare’s Hamlet is “To be or not to be, that is the question.” More than a line in a famous play, it’s also the central idea of the writer’s life.

The American novelist Paul Theroux said, “You can’t want to be a writer, you have to be one.” Being is an entirely different state than wanting. Almost everyone wants to be a writer… but far fewer people do the work of being a writer.

Is it possible that we overcomplicate what it means to be a writer? We have all kinds of emotional attachments to our writing. We connect it to our self-worth, our vocation, our value to society, our legacy, and so much more.

Maybe it’s actually much simpler than that. Maybe it just means that we sit down and do the work of writing. No fuss, no complications, no drama. We simply do what’s required that day.

“To be or not to be, that is the question.” What will be your answer?