Who is a minor writer?
And who are we to say?
A tweet to “become a minor writer” recently caught my attention on what is passing as a feed over at the former blue bird.
The post was an attempt at encouragement written by someone considered to be a writer of some merit in the independent writer world.
Yet, the 50 or so tweeted characters stuck in my craw, as my grandmother would say.
Who is a minor writer? What makes a writer or any creative one of merit? Who are we to say?
And why would I give this any afterthought?
After a week of dwelling on my own annoyed reaction to the tweet, I reached back to my grandparents.
My grandmother was an incredible quilter. A true artisan with a mind for math she pulled off the back burner of the everyday when she designed and handstiched quilts for those she loved. The only quilts ever priced for sale were those she constructed with fellow quilters at church to raise money for worthy causes.
My grandfather was a story teller. He could talk for days. He made a living as a Jewel Tea salesman and later on, owned his own car lot. He could talk a porcupine into driving off in a used Studebaker.
These people were workers. Their families of origin and those before them and before them and on and on and on were workers, sometimes working themselves into an early grave.
To take time out of the day to create simply for themselves was simply unheard of.
But hitch creativity to an end result of productive work well, that provided justification for taking time from something that they should be doing.
These were not minor people.
The minors in my grandparents lives - their grandchildren - absorbed the creativity and as adults, balanced work with family and somehow, managed to plug in a creative practice here and again.
And the creative beat goes on with the great-grands.
My grandparents achieved merit. They were true influencers.
All without social media.
So so many create for themselves and not for recognition. Minor or otherwise.
Respect.
***
My grandmother’s sister - my great-aunt - was the writer in the family.
She and I shared such similar interests. Bess was always on to something new, caught up in the possibility of what if.
She raised birds in her basement aviary, took courses in graphology and exercised regularly while owning the most current on-trend equipment - a vibrating belt machine my brothers couldn’t get enough of and a twist and balance board that when challenged, Bess could out balance anyone.
Writing stuck with her as with me. Her world was what she witnessed.
Bess today would be 109 years old.
I’m privileged to have copies of her stories.
Enjoy an excerpt.
And thank you, Aunt Bess.
Literary Cleveland has opened registration for the annual 2025 Inkubator Writing Conference, held September 5 - 14, 2025.
The conference is free, but space is limited for the individual workshops. For those attending onsite, register early.
Virtual events are offered for those who cannot attend in person.
View the schedule here.
As always, thank you for reading and today, for listening.
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Exactly. Often people think money made decides who is a good writer. There are writers who make lots of money churning out books with the same formula. There are writers whose writing is not to my taste, but I still recognize that they write well. Also, one day you can write a great piece and the next a lousy one. Why do we need to label writers as major or minor, etc.? We are writers if we write.
Good post, Sheree! I’m in total agreement re: “minor” writer. And I, too, have a manuscript written by my great-aunt, and now seeing yours makes me want to get it back out and finish reading (it’s a longish work). And … nice pic of you when you were a kid; could be a great pic for a book jacket cover!