Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | I feel like I'm drowning...

Kelly, the others have some great advice -- I especially agree that you need to keep busy! Free time is lovely but too much of it is a little self-destructive.

I have known all my life that what I want to do with my life is write. Period. I have never wavered from this conviction. Unfortunately, it's tough to support yourself this way. This depends on what kind of writing you want to to do -- "write" is a little vague. Journalism or technical writing is probably your best shot at being able to actually feed yourself coming out of the gate. Most novelists/poets do not make enough money to support themselves. And unfortunately, I am a novelist! The John Grishams and J.K. Rowlings of the world are rare. If you write romance novels, I think the average Harlequin pays somewhere between $3,000-$5,000. After taxes that's nothing. And if you can only write/publish three of them a year -- yup, that means you're broke.

So, I developed my plan when I was 10 or so. I have always been super-organized and a terrific typist, so I decided to become a secretary or some other kind of boring office job where I'd make enough to get by that would leave me with most of my time and mental energies free to pursue my writing. Unfortunately, I didn't stick to my plan. When I got older, I became more and more involved with computers and ended up getting a two-year degree in networking, which has led to work in the field. I really enjoy my job, plus it's very lucrative for someone my age -- but I work a lot of hours and it is very creative, challenging work that leaves me mentally drained when I do get home. So, my writing has really suffered.

If you do want to write, there is nothing that'll stop you -- you don't need any special equipment or investments, you just need to sit there and do it! But, as the old adage goes -- don't quit your day job. It's tough to make a living at writing, and if you quit your job in anticipation of doing so, you will probably just get ultra-stressed, and trust me, stress is not conducive to writing.

If I were in your position -- I'd accelerate your work on the university degree and start taking more writing classes. See if you can get by working part-time. Borrow money if you have to -- don't be afraid of student loans, in the US pretty much everyone has them these days. Slant your degree to something you can fall back on or that would be useful. There are a lot of would-be writers out there teaching English. Technical writing is also good even if you're more interested in writing short stories.

And remember that writing is an art, and like any art, you don't have to get paid for it to enjoy it. If I never get published, I'm OK with that -- I have spent so many lovely hours immersed in my own worlds (which actually makes me sound like I'm ready for a straitjacket, but never mind that) that the non-monetary rewards are enough. However, monetary rewards are always certainly appreciated.

Being a writer can be really discouraging -- yes, you will get rejected. It's inevitable. No matter how good you are, not everyone will think you're great. The good part is that usually the more you get rejected, the more you get used to it. You'll probably cry the first time, but it gets easier. It also takes a lot of time to become a good writer. I can't remember who said this, but he was giving advice to writers and he said something like, "Write something. Then throw it away." Someone else also said that on average your first three novels will never be worth printing.

Obviously you've got the one basic prequisite for this -- talent! You wouldn't have gotten awards if your writing stunk. So you CAN do this. It's just a matter of figuring out a plan to decide how you want to go about it.

And if the writing thing is just an idea and you still waver about it, go talk to a guidance counselor. They are trained to help people exactly in your situation. If you meet one and don't like him/her, go to another one. As in any profession, there are some that are real jerks that'll just make you feel worse. Go take some of those personality tests that are supposed to help decide what you want to do. I think they're mostly a load of nonsense, but they can jog you into thinking about things you hadn't considered before. You're not the first and you certainly won't be the last to have this dilemma, so there are all kind of resources out there.

Please keep us all updated.

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jen

"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC

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