1. You tell your friend about these amazing pictures you saw of white sand beaches and bluer than blue skies. You could even taste the little umbrella drinks. Hmm, where did you see them? Oh wait, you dreamed them up so you could forget the dentist had his hand in your mouth.

2. You eat pretzels for dinner so you don’t have to take a break from your latest manuscript.

3. You spend half a morning researching whether or not the air raid sirens were still operational in Berlin in March 1945. I’ll get back to you on that one.

4. You ask for a thesaurus for your birthday. And only you think it’s the most exciting gift you got.

5. You bawl and bawl as you watch Downton Abbey. At the same time you cheer because the writers did a fabulous job with that plot twist to shore up a sagging middle. Brilliant.

6. On breezy mornings, you hear the wind whispering in the pines. Yet everyone uses the word whispering. What might be a fresher way of saying that? Still contemplating that.

7. And what about the sound that very wet snow makes after it’s been compacted just a little and you step on it? That one I figured out – creaking.

What about you? How might you know if you’re a writer? Maybe you have a talent you didn’t know about! Please share.