I’m heading to the Festival of Festival of Faith and Writing later this week, which is essentially a three-day binge on books and writing. I always come back feeling refreshed and reminded why I’m in love with words. In anticipation of the festival, here’s my list of signs that you’re a writer.

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• A writer is someone who quilts words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, paragraphs into stories, and stories into something that will keep us warm at night.
• A writer is someone who delights in finding precisely the right word at the right time . . . with the right word count.
• A writer is someone who hears the siren call of laundry and Facebook and Netflix but somehow manages to keep rear in chair long enough to string some words together.
• A writer is someone who wakes up in the middle of the night scrambling for a pen to capture those nocturnal wisps of stories.
• A writer is someone who kills her darlings (but marks their graves in case they can be brought back to life one day).
• A writer is someone who notices the little things other people miss. The gunmetal-gray of an April sky. The smell of new grass in spring. The old woman in the shadows with a story to tell.
• A writer is someone who slows down time to help the rest of us pay attention.
• A writer is someone who knows that words don’t appear magically out of thin air; they come out one idea, one keystroke, one drop of blood at a time.
• A writer is someone who believes that words have the power to start a conversation, build a bridge, and remind us that we’re not alone.
• A writer is someone who believes that words have the power to change the world, or maybe just one person. And that maybe that’s the same thing.

In honor of writers everywhere, I’m giving away a writing journal today. It was made in Thailand by precious women who are trying to get on their feet again after being exploited and trafficked. You can find out more about Women at Risk’s ministry here, and you can find more products like this journal here.

To be eligible to win this journal, simply answer this question: What do you think makes someone a writer? How have words made an impact in your life?