I work as an admin. I sit at a computer all day, manage calendars, set meetings, and file paperwork. I am way. too. ADD. for this. I entertain fantasies about waking up on any given weekday morning and spending it calmly contemplating story ideas over a cup of coffee on my back porch. No commute. No meetings. Just me and my (presumably) awesome ideas. It is a constant struggle to focus on my 8-5 job and I consider the merits of putting in my notice so I can work freelance and spend my days writing, learning, and producing. ...and then i remind myself that I have nowhere near enough experience to make that a viable or constructive option. And also, y'know, money. Never mind the fact that my ruminations come standard with a set of rose-colored glasses. I'm not stupid per se, more like blindly optimistic. Either way it's a moot point and I know it. But it's still fun/wildly distracting to think about. I can't imagine I'm the only one who feels this way.
That's fine. Over here at the moment - there's an advertisement for [Apple] I think, maybe..(?) - a cool couple sky-dive, mountaineer, live with tribes in the jungle, holiday every day of their lives - since their honeymoon they say, blog about their 'experience' on their Apple and EVERYBODY in the entire country hates them. Admin is THE most honourable profession for a writer. Imagine, some people on here work in laboratories - probably torture mice. Others are IT sex pests, some just sit in their pyjamas - that's how I got involved - back in the old days. Obviously (I) have a proper career now, can't tell you too much, ONLY be reassured, I think is the word.
I work at a plant nursery. It's probably more interesting than sitting at a computer all day, but when it's almost 90 degrees in November, it can get old. I do think of quitting but, as you already concluded, it's probably not a good long term solution. The only thing I can say is keep up your hope and maybe everything will work out someday.
There's nothing stopping you from writing every evening after work and on weekends, submitting stories and becoming a freelance writer. Where there is a will there is a way.
I'm THIS CLOSE (holding up two fingers very very very close together) to walking out of my job right now. It's been utterly shit the past few months and one more incident is going to be the last straw. Thankfully I have a new job, and I only need to make it to 18 November. I could walk now, because my bonus is enough to make up for a month's salary, but that's 1) unprofessional 2) stupid, because burning bridges is never a good idea. I wouldn't want to write fiction full time anyway. It's a hobby, it's fun, and I want it to stay that way. My dream is to earn enough that I can work 3 days a week. It's just wrong that the standard is 5 days work, 2 days for us.
I'm glad you're realistic about it. Over the years, I've seen a few people post threads about how they're going to quit their job and focus on writing to support themselves. As much as it sucks to say, the odds of being able to support yourself are very small. As long as you keep writing and submitting, you'll eventually build a nice portfolio of published work. This will help you build a reputation and (hopefully) make it easier to get published. Good luck, and don't ever stop writing!
I had just been thinking the same thing. I think my problem is that I don't do well trying to focus on one thing for a prolonged period of time. If i were trying to spend 8 hours a day pecking away at a keyboard, my original post could very well apply to full-time writing. If i were ever to get the chance to write full time for some reason, I think I'd have to have another side job to keep myself balanced. Some of my best inspiration comes after a crazy day of work where I've been focused on other things. I think i just need to find the "other things" that keep me satisfied so writing sounds less like an escape and more like an awesome complement to my day.
Don't quit your day-job until you pull down a six figure book contract with movie rights. Starvation sucks. Check out the bio on David Poyer, who left the Navy as an LT in 1976 (age 26), with a goal to be a full time writer. Took a while, lot of sparse meals. Now he's published over 40 books, but that took a while
Agreed. my husband and i are trying to knock out our mortgage in the next ten years. Once that happens, all bets are off.
I was diagnosed with ADD back in high school (which apparently is an obsolete name for the condition and is now considered ADHD subtype Inattentive which to me makes less sense, but okay) And let me tell you: I got my most creative & prolific writing while in school or in busy work jobs. The moment I left university and started to work full time on my parents business on our ranch, my writing decreased drastically. Recently my mom signed me up for a weekly study with her, and the first meeting I ended up trying to learn classical Greek during the lecture portion and got pretty far with the letters, pronunciation, and vocab. (Still got to figure out verb tenses and basically how sentence structure works though.) But as I chatted with my friend on Facebook while trying to study Literary Theory but instead writing out a story two years ago: "When I try to write a book, I get distracted & do other things. But when I try to do my homework, I write a novel." I even get distracted from my distractions My brain wants to explore these thoughts sprung from this subject, going off further and further from the initial course it was meant to be following. Sometimes it tries to follow two separate paths simultaneously, just one like a program running in the background that intermittently interrupts the primary string of thoughts (like when I accidentally say aloud the secondary thoughts in the middle of my speaking on the primary thoughts or the public discussion currently at hand and acquaintances look at me completely thrown & weirded out, but I hadnt meant to—close friends understand I was juggling my attention & I just slipped up in that moment.) Anyway, I guess what I was trying to say is that dedicated times to focus or empty schedules can also backfire with ADD; creativity oft can spring from distractions, not necessarily from intent & diligent application.
I have always fantasized about writing full time. I am currently writing a story based on my wife's childhood. Working 10hrs a day, Monday to Friday sucks all of the energy out of me. I dream of publishing a successful book. Doesn't have to be Pulitzer levels. Just well received by a target audience. I am 51. Been mucking around with writing since my school days. I can't help thinking that it is getting to late to make inroads on the literary front.
Never think it's too late. I had an ambition to write and publish a novel for 30 years. Finally achieved it at the age of 58. My 5 minutes of fame have been worth all the effort and the positive comments are very rewarding.
You're dead right; it's a way of making the most of such a mindset—brain on fast burn book on slow burn I say. With a scattered approach one can bring so much more variety to the table.
Use this as motivation to get your career going. There is nothing stopping you from writing freelance or starting a blog while you work full time. Most writers have day jobs, its only a few that are able to write novels full time.
