Born to Write

[yukinoomoni]

"Writing is different," Salinger insists. "Other people get into occupations by accident or design; but writers are born. We have to write. I have to write. I could work at selling motels, or slopping hogs, for fifty years, but if someone asked my occupation, I'd say writer, even if I'd never sold a word. Writers write. Other people talk."

--JD Salinger, in the novel "Shoeless Joe" by WP Kinsella.

I have no idea if the real author JD Salinger ever felt this way - he very well could have - but his fictional representative has said it perfectly in a way I never really could. How many of you on this reading list write and write and write, and go to sleep thinking, "I'm a writer," and yet you haven't even sold anything yet, or you work day jobs that appear to label you otherwise?

That is my exact and precise sentiment, that quote right there, on how I feel.

Comments

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

This is so very true. Some people are born to be artists, crafters of words, music and images. And yet, in "society", they are rarely seen as such.

[kuruccha.livejournal.com]

Yay! :D
Let me say, it happens a lot to me too. Actually, I'm working as something-like-a-secretary in an office - but still, if something asks me what I think I'll do in my life, my mind surely flies to writing. :D

[mlik.livejournal.com]

It's an age-old argument and one Jen and I have had. High art vs. Consumer art.

You could write the best novel ever, but without a little luck marketing, publishing, a literary agent, you'd probably never get rich from it. Starving artist. In the age of the Internet, self-publishing makes getting stuff out easier, unfortunately there's a lot more crap a reader has to sift through to find anything of quality. This is why originality and professionalism is important if you want to be taken seriously.

Or maybe you could write something that catered to what people wanted (I hear vampires are popular?), and get rich that way. "Why yes, I am a sell out. I guess I'll just have to comfort myself by sleeping on my huge piles of money."

And then there's me. I get paid to write about doodads. The fiction I write for fun is about characters in a video game, but writing an actual novel isn't one of my priorities. If eating books was as good as reading books, I'd choose eating every time.

But we're all writers. Just like anyone can be a parent. :P

I guess in summary, the bar for entry to become a writer is very low. The big question is why do you write and what do you want to get out of it? And if you want things like recognition or wealth, it takes talent and effort just like any other job.

Ah I remember now. We were fighting over NaNoWriMo.

[yukinoomoni.livejournal.com]

Wait, you get paid to write about doodads? What do you mean?

[mlik.livejournal.com]

Yes. I'm a Technical Writer, which I like because I get to play with technology, even though it's not really fancy things like lasers and spaceships.

[yukinoomoni.livejournal.com]

That must be really fun.

[mlik.livejournal.com]

Fun? Meh. It's a job. Though the fun part is when I get to draw diagrams using Adobe Illustrator. That part is too fun to be considered work. So at least that's good. I can apply the drawing skills to my video games so it's a means to an end. Really I do it to support my video and board game habits. :P

[moiraj.livejournal.com]

I consider myself a writer, always have, but I don't have to write, and I never considered it an occupation. My occupation is always just my day job.