Yes and it's so easy to quite, I've done it several times! But I always seem to find myself back at it again - it just seems to happen that way and always has.
See, that's the problem. A lot of prospective writers are not doing it for the right reasons. I wrote for many, many years before I ever showed anyone outside of friends and family. That was never my goal. I wrote because I enjoyed writing. Then I showed it to some friends who are professional authors and they encouraged me to do more with it. My goal was never to be published, it was never to have an agent, it was never to make money, it was just to write.
Same. the goal was not to write to get published, though in high school I was encouraged to submit my poetry to a few places. I wrote because it made me feel better. It was therapeutic and I liked sharing my stuff online and developing a community of people who enjoyed the craft too. College was when i started submitting in earnest. I dont write to get published.... but if it gets published, that'd be pretty cool as well. Thats one of the reasons I never wanted to do an MFA program.... i felt like if i did it, i would be forced to write and forced to publish, and it would take all of my joy out of writing.
I think I carried on singing for a few reasons. Perhaps because I’d spent my lifetime wanting it and that was difficult to give up on. Or, if I’m being a little more honest, I was clinging onto that dream of fame more than anything else. My idols had always been singers, and I wanted to be just like them. Moving on from that was the best thing I ever did. I cant say writing is the same as singing exactly, though, because writing has always been more of an escape from reality than anything else. I’ve been dreaming up stories since I was a child- I dont know what my life is going to feel like without that.
Haha, I’ve heard that writing is the worst “get-rich-quick” scheme ever. I’m not looking to pursue writing as a sole career, or even as a career at all. But sometimes I find it difficult to fulfil my own expectations of myself, and that’s making the experience unpleasant. Making it my New Year’s resolution to think less.
