1. Although we are living in an age where almost everything that can be printed on paper has gone digital, you keep a notebook and pen on hand to brainstorm and pre-write.

2. Conversing with yourself and your characters has become a daily habit.

3. You are in love with words and their definitions. You never write without a dictionary and thesaurus.

4. You find it difficult to sit through a book without your mind drifting back and forth between the story you're reading and the story you're writing.

5. You strongly believe that music is essential to setting the scene.

6. The inspiration bug bites at the most inconvenient times. Be it in the middle of the night, when you're running errands, or when you're at a social function, you won't be able to ignore it.

7. You sometimes wonder what your friends or family would think if they had the opportunity to browse through your search history. Would they be amused? Startled? Horrified?

8. You are by no means antisocial, but being left alone to read or work on your writing project is often preferable to socializing.

9. You hate to use the same word multiple times. You will go back into your manuscript to revise if you see said offender appear multiple times in the same scene or chapter.

10. You’re an avid reader. Books excite you! You can’t walk past a bookstore without going in and browsing the shelves.

11. You’re a professional observer and listener. The people you encounter all have stories to tell, whether they know it or not.

12. You can’t get through a writing session without writing fuel. Coffee (or tea) is a staple in your house.

13. You consider lazy writing unacceptable. The writing process must be respected in its entirety.

14. You own several writing guides. Writing isn’t just something you do. It’s something you actively read and/or write about.

15. Entering the revision stage of the writing process terrifies and excites you.

16. You’ve pondered and answered this question at least once in your life: “Why do you write?”

17. If you don't have a professional author name, you've attempted to think up one that would suit your written work.

18. Receiving vague feedback on your writing irritates you. If someone is going to say something, you'd prefer them to be honest and give you a proper critique, so that you can go back, edit and improve.

19. Your writing time is precious. When someone interrupts a writing session you explode.

20. You have doubted your desire to write because you've been told that you will likely never be published. You worry that you won't be able to support yourself with writing alone and have been called a fool for putting so much effort into a fruitless endeavor. But, deep down you feel called to be a storyteller and that has has never changed.