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Writer

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A writer is a person who uses written words to share ideas. They can use many different styles to tell stories or teach things. Some writers create long books called novels. Others write short stories that you can read in one sitting.

Selma Lagerlöf - 1920s
Selma Lagerlöf - 1920s

Some people write plays for actors to perform on a stage. These people are called playwrights. They must write dialogue that sounds natural when spoken.

FF The Tempest title
FF The Tempest title

Writers can also write scripts for movies or video games. These people are called screenwriters. They might work as freelancers, which means they are self-employed.

Anne Frank signature
Anne Frank signature

Writing can happen in many ways. Some writers use only words. Others use pictures like drawings or paintings to help explain their ideas.

Kusakabe Kimbei - Writing Letter (large)
Kusakabe Kimbei - Writing Letter (large)

Some writers even use music to share their thoughts. The Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore did this.

Tomas Transtromer and Modhir Ahmed
Tomas Transtromer and Modhir Ahmed

There are also technical writers who write reports or science papers. They make hard information easy to understand for everyone. Some writers work from an oral tradition. This means they use spoken words to create their stories.

History shows many different kinds of writers. Poets use rhythm and rhyme to create feelings.

Pushkin derzhavin edit
Pushkin derzhavin edit

In the United Kingdom, the monarch appoints an official poet called the Poet Laureate. Scotland has its own special version called the Makar.

William Blake Nurses Song Copy Z 1826
William Blake Nurses Song Copy Z 1826

Some writers use wit to mock silly things in society. These people are called satirists. The philosopher Voltaire wrote a satire called Candide.

Ninety-Five Theses, Wittenberg
Ninety-Five Theses, Wittenberg

Jonathan Swift is another famous satirist who wrote Gulliver's Travels.

Many writers work with music. A lyricist writes the words for songs.

Wagner Luzern 1868
Wagner Luzern 1868

A librettist writes the text for an opera. The poet Lorenzo Da Ponte wrote words for many of Mozart's operas.

The Letter Writer
The Letter Writer

Most opera composers work with a librettist. However, Richard Wagner was different because he wrote both the music and the words himself. Some writers also write about the lives of other people. These writers are called biographers.

Writing can change from one form to another. A writer might start with travel books and then become a journalist.

Zacharias Topelius by Edelfelt
Zacharias Topelius by Edelfelt

A poem can be turned into a play or a film. Even a novel can become a movie on a screen.

Un Cœur simple (manuscrito)
Un Cœur simple (manuscrito)

Some writers use different names for their different types of work. Dorothy Sayers wrote crime stories and also wrote plays and essays.

Leonid Pasternak - The Passion of creation
Leonid Pasternak - The Passion of creation

Writing is a way to keep culture alive for a long time.

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🖼️ Images & Media (22)
File:Francisco de Goya y Lucientes - Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos.jpg
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes - Gaspar...
File:Selma Lagerlöf - 1920s.png
Selma Lagerlöf - 1920s.png
File:Zacharias Topelius by Edelfelt.jpeg
Zacharias Topelius by Edelfelt.jpeg
File:Pushkin derzhavin edit.jpg
Pushkin derzhavin edit.jpg
File:Wagner Luzern 1868.jpg
Wagner Luzern 1868.jpg
File:FF The Tempest title.jpg
FF The Tempest title.jpg
File:Un Cœur simple (manuscrito).jpg
Un Cœur simple (manuscrito).jpg
File:Printing3 Walk of Ideas Berlin.JPG
Printing3 Walk of Ideas Berlin.JPG
File:Anne Frank signature.svg
Anne Frank signature.svg
File:Kusakabe Kimbei - Writing Letter (large).jpg
Kusakabe Kimbei - Writing Letter (large).jpg
File:Nla.ms-ms5393-2-s1.jpg
Nla.ms-ms5393-2-s1.jpg
File:The Letter Writer.jpg
The Letter Writer.jpg

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