"Is Everyone an Author?"

            In our English 101 class we are asked to respond to the question, "Is everyone an author?" If you ask me, I believe that everyone has the ability to be an author but not everyone publishes their writing for an audience, therefore they are just writers.  

Another question you may have is the difference between a writer and an author. My opinion is that a writer is anyone that documents their thoughts or feelings in writing. I believe an author is someone who writes a piece to be published, and shared with an audience. An author writes knowing their work is going to be seen and critiqued by others, whereas a writer could be writing for themselves. I feel everyone, at some point in their lives has written something. I mean, in elementary school we are taught to write, recording special past events from our lives, writing a story, or whatnot. So, anyone is really a writer. But to be an author you would need to publish or share your writing with others. 

In conclusion, I feel that everyone is a writer, but not everyone is an author. Anyone has the capability to become an author. It's more of a decision whether the writer wants to publish their work for the world to see, making their thoughts or ideas public, or whether the writer does not feel the need to share their writing.