I was only talking about an aspect of professionalism, where even if you don't feel like x (in this case, writing), you do it anyway because you must. Don't let "I don't feel like it", or variations like "my muse has left me", stop you from writing. That's all. To try and avoid talking past one another, to me the qualifier "making it" means getting published and supporting myself by doing what I love. I believe that being the best writer that I can be, and constantly improving, is the most likely way I can achieve that. And one thing I can do to be the best writer that I can be and always improve over time, is to make writing the highest priority that I realistically can, and to write even when I don't feel like it (but have the time to do so).
If it would only take a few months or even a couple years to be sure of "making it", I'd agree, but for most it takes a lot longer than that, and I really believe there has to be a balance for an effort to be sustainable. Maybe not when you're really young and still overflowing with energy, and certainly not if you're not working elsewhere, but if you're over the youthful energy stage and working hard elsewhere, I think you have to be kind to yourself. I used to be much more diligent about making myself write every day, no matter what, and I just wasn't having fun. Writing started to feel like a second job. I don't want a second job. I'm not saying people don't have to have some level of discipline if they want to "make it". But I think it's a marathon, not a sprint, and the best way to win is to take care of yourself, realize you have a lot of other stuff going on, and make sure you're not turning something you enjoy into something that's just another chore. (I expect the best advice to take on this is going to vary from person to person. I'm naturally pretty driven and goal-oriented, so for me, I need to remember to not push too hard. For someone who's more naturally laid back and relaxed, they may need the daily discipline in order to get anything done. Damn, one more area of writing in which there's no universally valid advice!)
That's probably a good guideline: do what's sustainable for you. It depends on how one defines "success" for themselves, something I have to remind myself often. Everybody has different goals and what not. Thank-you for sharing Bayview.
This is me to a T. I had a hobby once before that I made into a career, and I no longer participate in that activity at all because I completely burned myself out on it. I'm not making that mistake with writing - it's the one thing I get to do because I want to do it, not because I have to do it.
