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Is Writing Your Calling? Maybe Not!
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Wow... thank you for posting this. It made me really think about what i want to do with my life. But even after reading that, I still want to be a writer. It's my passion, my love, and no matter how hard it may be to achieve such a dream, I shall continue to try.
I have always been a writer. It comes naturally to me, and I have always excelled in my English classes, particularly those with a focus on writing (such as short stories, poetry, etc.). In high school and in college my writing has caught the attention of quite a number of students and teachers. However, living in this very rural, "one horse" area, I do not have easy access to the means by which I may turn my current hobby into something more. Who knows what the future holds for me, though? Writing may remain my hobby until the day I die, or it may become my career. It is impossible to know.
What do you mean by "very rural, 'one horse' area"?I live in the wilds of Montana and I manage to do just about what I want as a writer.
Good article, but I think there's a little more to it than that. I know writers who don't achieve any material justification for their work (getting representation, publication, paid inclusion in anthologies) but write some of the most beautiful prose I've ever seen. I don't know if writing even is so much of a calling as it is a passion - I've never had a divine "ah-ha!" moment that's made me a writer - to be honest, one night I got drunk and started plinking away. A little less romantic than a chorus of angels, so to speak. Regardless, I still love it.
In any case, I'm kind of speaking in circles here so I'll let it be - I'm just not a big fan of articles written by writers supposedly seeking to dissuade other writers. A dash of reality is always appreciated, but I think we all have enough lurking doubt without unfounded claims such as these written by another author. Remember people, this is an opinion piece, not gospel.
Essentially - if you want to write, keep writing. Don't let others trying to thin the competition get you down - you never know what may happen. After all, Stephen King's first three books got rejected outright when he first set out to become an author.
Cheers,
Ian D.G. Sandusky
Grey Dogs: Zombie Survival
Not to mention the rejections for his short stories, that he put on a spike on the wall till they started falling down.I don't think the question is "should you be a writer?" If you want to write, you should write. It's cheaper than therapy. The question, I think, should be "should you pursue publication?"
By all means--but know what you're getting into before you decide.
I agree with some of the comments here. The post suggests that those who haven't been published yet by a reputable publication might want to reconsider becoming writers...but how are you going to be published if you don't keep going, keep trying, keep writing? We aren't all published by Washington Post Magazine straight out of the gate, Nadia. It takes some writers years to ever be noticed, like Stephen King, as some people mentioned. He sent his short stories to magazines for many years, receiving countless rejection notes. Sure some of his work was published, but not in the way he wanted. What if he had given up?I agree that not everyone who wants to be a paid writer will be, but not everyone wants to write for a living — many do it for themselves — and others will have to struggle for years before striking gold. Don't give up if it's your passion.
You know you were meant to be a writer as long as the ideas keep coming and as long as you still enjoy putting them on paper.
I have always loved to read, but writing sometimes annoys me and I suck at detail plus I never seem to get into my writing enough to finish it hmmmmmm...... I guess writing isn't my calling and until I find out a way to get money off of reading I'm gonna focus on being 11.
gonna go and read a book now (im at my local library)
Hannah:If you're only 11, it's way too early to decide whether or not writing is your calling. However, if you don't enjoy it, don't do it as a way of making money. Very few writers can make a living at writing novels. Do it for fun and for yourself, and if you can make some money at it that'll be an added benefit.
If you can't get into the story you're writing, maybe the topic isn't interesting enough. When I wrote my first novel a couple years ago I found it difficult to make myself sit and work on it for a couple reasons: I think I overplotted before starting to write it (if you plot it out too much beforehand, when you actually sit down to write it feels like you've already written it, and it's a little boring), and I made the mistake of writing about my characters' everyday lives, which also wasn't very interesting. My second novel is about a woman who gets in trouble while on vacation, and it felt like I got to take a vacation every time I sat down to write, so it was (and still is!) a lot of fun to work on. You might try that — visit a place you love and enjoy or always wanted to be in your writing, and it will be more interesting for you.
Hannah, I never finished most of my early stories either. Some of those ideas, though, grew into awesome stuff. I agree with Josette--write so it's fun. Odds are it will never pay well, so why not enjoy it?
Sometimes I do question whether writing is the path I should take. Many people have suggested that when I grow up I should write books, but I've always found little faith in my skills. What makes be different from every other writer in the world? I hope that one day I can live my dream, but I don't want it to be wrong for me.
Hannah, I'm fifteen, so I sort of know how you feel. It's hard to make choices about your future, and I don't know about you but everyone keeps asking me about it. Just breathe and enjoy what you like. If you write a story that you would like and see the story in your mind detail can be acquired more easily. I love using adjectives and reading has really helped expand my knowledge of how to create a picture in words. It's hard sometimes to make it sound right or just add detail but I always write small paragraphs about just one scene or person, adding as much to it as I can to practice. I hope I helped you. Good luck!
One of the great things about writing, is you can keep doing it without investing much more than time. Think how expensive and intensive training for the Olympics would be! There you have to make a choice, decide if you want it badly enough.With writing, you can just...keep writing, keep improving, and see where it takes you.
Xandy wrote: "Sometimes I do question whether writing is the path I should take. Many people have suggested that when I grow up I should write books, but I've always found little faith in my skills. What makes b..."Damn - some good insight from someone a mere fifteen years on this earth. Xandy, you're quite right - there's no need to make any heavy, binding decisions about your potential writing career early on in life. Some writers come into bloom young, others don't realize they love it until they have the added time retirement brings!
Great advice!
Dear frinds all of you right I think all human have ability of writing just have to upbringing so to achive the aime write and write and write
Ever since I was six, I've wanted to be a writer, despite my parents' chagrined looks - how would I ever support myself as a writer? Still, creative writing is something I could never get away from.... My desire to make up stories is too strong. Recently, I left my career as a professor to pursue my first love and have started to be published. At last, I feel like I'm doing what I was meant to do. Ex Lit Prof
www.the-reading-list.com
Quite simply writing is my therapy. Without it I would disintegrate. Does that make it a calling?
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