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writer

writer

1.0
A person who creates books, articles, or stories
  • noun
  • /ˈraɪtər/
translation icon : escritor
  • I've been working with a writer for years, Chris Morgan.
  • a freelance writer
  • readers and writers
  • a young writer

And again, that's where your writer brain kicks in.

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Examples

Synonyms

author
vswriter
2.0

A person who writes books or articles

is a general term not focused on professional status
songwriter
vswriter
124 2.8

A person who makes the words and music for popular tunes

is broader and includes many text forms beyond song composition
novelist
vswriter
112 3.4

A person who writes long made up stories for a living

is broader and covers many text types beyond long fiction
playwright
vswriter
79 5.3

A person who writes plays for the theatre

is broader and does not focus on stage performance writing
screenwriter
vswriter
57 3.7

A person who writes scripts for films or television

is broader and applies to all text creators, not just screen work
biographer
vswriter
49 3.5

A person who writes about someone's life and achievements

is broader and includes many genres besides life accounts
essayist
vswriter
  • Literature
34 6.1

A person who writes short pieces about ideas or personal experiences

is broader and not limited to essay forms or literary pieces
sportswriter
vswriter
  • Literature
29 2.9

A journalist who writes about sports events and players

is general and not focused on any single subject area
scribe
vswriter
25 6.2

A person who writes or records information for other people

is the general term and does not imply a formal copying role
copywriter
vswriter
17 5.3

A person who writes the words for ads and other promotion

is general and not limited to persuasive commercial text
sports writer
vswriter
  • Literature
12 2.6

A reporter who writes about sports games and players

is general and covers subjects beyond sports reporting
ghostwriter
vswriter
10 7.1

A person who makes a book or speech for someone else who is shown as the author

is the usual term that does not imply hidden authorship
wordsmith
vswriter
9 6.5

A person who uses words in a skilled way when writing

is neutral about skill and focuses only on producing texts
letter writer
vswriter
9 2.5

A person who writes letters to send messages to other people

is broader and covers many printed, digital, and creative forms
diarist
vswriter
7 5.9

A person who writes a diary regularly to record daily thoughts and events

is general and includes public, published, or professional text production
scriptwriter
vswriter
5 4.0

A person who makes scripts for plays, films, or TV shows

is general and not tied to any specific medium
journalist
vswriter
  • Archaic
4 3.0

A person who writes their daily thoughts and experiences in a diary

is broader and does not imply private daily recording
scribbler
vswriter
  • Offensive
2 8.2

A writer, often a journalist, who people think is not very skilled

is neutral and does not carry insulting or dismissive tone
authoress
vswriter
  • Offensive
1 8.9

A woman who writes books or articles, now old-fashioned and sometimes offensive

is neutral and avoids gendered or outdated labeling
film writer
vswriter
1 3.1

A person who makes the story and script for a movie

is broader and covers many kinds of textual creation beyond film
penman
vswriter
  • Archaic
1 7.7

A person who writes for a living, for example a journalist or author

is broader and does not stress handwriting or pen skill
joint author
vswriter
1 4.2

A person who writes a book or article together with another person, sharing credit

is neutral about solo versus joint creation and says nothing about shared credit
newswriter
vswriter
  • Literature
1 3.3

A person who makes news articles for a newspaper or TV

is broader and includes creative and non-news text types
scriptor
vswriter
  • Archaic
9.1

A person who writes books, articles, or reports

is the general, everyday term for any person who creates texts
littérateur
vswriter
  • Literature
9.9

A person who writes books or poems and loves literature

is broader and covers many nonliterary or casual text types
polygrapher
vswriter
  • Archaic
8.4

A person who writes many books or articles on different subjects

is neutral about quantity and simply denotes making texts
autographer
vswriter
8.7

A person who writes texts by hand, for example an author

is broader and does not require production by hand
inkslinger
vswriter
  • Archaic
8.6

A person who writes for newspapers, magazines, or books

is the neutral, standard word for the general role without slang
texter
vswriter
5.4

A person who writes words for adverts or websites

is broader and covers anyone producing texts, not only professionals
documenter
vswriter
4.4

A person who writes or organizes information for others to use

is broader and does not focus on formal documentation tasks
fictionist
vswriter
7.3

A person who writes novels or short stories that are made up

is general and includes nonfiction and other text forms as well
fictioneer
vswriter
  • Informal
8.8

A person who invents stories for books or to mislead people

is the neutral, standard term without humorous or playful tone
serialist
vswriter
7.3

A writer who publishes a story in many parts in a magazine or newspaper

is the general term not tied to serialized publication formats
paragrapher
vswriter
  • Literature
8.0

A writer of short pieces for newspapers or magazines

is broader and covers longer or varied forms, not only short pieces
space writer
vswriter
  • Literature
7.9

A person paid by how much printed space their articles use

is the general term and does not imply pay by space

Compounds

sports writer
  • Literature
12 2.6

A reporter who writes about sports games and players

A person who writes letters to send messages to other people

1 3.1

A person who makes the story and script for a movie

hack writer
  • Offensive
1 7.5

A writer who makes low quality books or articles only for money

A person who writes or records traditional stories passed down in a community

space writer
  • Literature
7.9

A person paid by how much printed space their articles use

How Professional

novelist
112 3.4
author
2.0
writer
1.0
amateur
122 2.8

Surface Forms

writer singular
writers plural

Morphology

writer = write (transparent) = write + er

Standard agentive noun formed from the verb 'write' with the productive suffix '-er', so the meaning 'person who writes' is directly derived.

Etymology

Writer comes from the verb write, which means 'to put words on paper or screen', and the ending -er which means 'a person who does something'. So a writer is simply someone who creates books, articles, or other texts.