Writer's Fallout Shelter

I remember this particular blog entry:

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Does snapping pictures as a hobby make one a "photographer"?
Does being a mother make me a "doctor," a "nurse," a "psychologist," or a "teacher"?

I think it all depends - but it's helpful and clear to make a distinction between writer, published writer, and professional writer. I write for a living. That's how I pay the bills. I haven't published as much as other writers who don't earn their keep this way, and some of them haven't made as much money from their writing as I have. So it can't boil down to money or publication credits, either. If you think of yourself as "a writer," you write regularly, and you keep working to improve your skills (to me, that's key - you can't just write hog-slop and say "it's good enough" and call yourself a "writer" in my opinion) - if you do those things, you can call yourself a writer.