Writing is my passion

[Yahweh]

Most everyone on the site knows that I'm a programmer. However, for my entire life, I never wanted to enter into this field; I got into it because I was fascinated with computers, but I did not ever plan to dedicate the rest of my life to writing code. There's no presige in this industry, at least not the kind I want.

I want to do *everything*. I want to be a CEO, I want to be a physicist, a mathematician, a senator or president, an actor, renowned engineer, a baller, shot caller. Basically, I'm a pseudomancial megalomanical with deeply rooted delusions of grandeur. More than anything, however, I've always wanted to be a writer, its something I've always been passionate about, and its the only real talent I have apart from writing code. I love the idea of being published, being admired and maligned, being influential -- but more than the notoriety, I love writing for the sake of writing itself.

Just today, a half an hour ago, I finished the last class of a civics course I was taking. A guy from class stops me on the way out of the door and tells me, "you know, you're smart, you've got a good head on your shoulders. I've met a lot of people who don't know anything about politics and they have ignorant views of philosophy. I've really enjoy the last 12 weeks of class with you -- not only are you well-spoken, you're well-read too and can really lay out opinions better than most people I've met. You have a real talent, and I hope it treats you well". These comments came, of course, from one of the few people in the class who actually had a lot of thoughtful things to say, so of course it was very flattering and uplifting at the same time.

I feel like I'm throwing away a possibly awesome talent as a programmer. I'd love to take writing as far as it can go, to be a profoundly influential political or moral philosopher, or to be a well-known writer for a prestigious publication like Fareed Zakaria.

Not right now, but in the 1 to 2 year future I'm going to make a career change toward writing. I don't care what it is: writing novels, journalism, lengthy books on political affairs, anything. This is completely new territory to me -- I look forward to the challenge of making it work.

(With that being said, I truly suck at proofreading.)

Mostly, this thread is informational (think of it like a open diary), but since its already being broadcast out in the open: if anyone has any career advice for me, pointers, protips, anything of the sort, it will be invaluable to me.

[ausador]

First of all you should join an online writing community. No matter what subject matter appeals to you there is one out there that specializes in it. It is a learning experience and a proving ground to write short stories, have people proof-read, edit, and critique them. It gives you instant feedback and enables you to see your weaknesses, at least if you are capable of accepting criticism.

Your post above would lead me to believe that you might have a problem with accepting honest advice on your writing style though. While I also have a high opinion of myself I would not express it quite as openly nor in the way that you have here.

Secondly narrow your focus a bit, moral philosophy is something that has been expounded upon for as long as written language has been around. Political Ideology and commentary has existed almost as long. But they are seperate subjects that ideally, if you are to write anything influential or original, will require a large amount of study of the history of each. While it is tempting to think of oneself as an expert on many subjects at once, if you are to write about them intelligently with the goal of actually improving others knowledge, then you need to actually be an expert and not just think you are.

Of course none of that is necessary if your goal is simply to pander to peoples pre-concieved ideas and reinforce what they believe. Many already make quite a good living by doing that and there is no reason that you would not be able to join them. Provided that you can write what they want to hear in an entertaining fashion.

[silencesoloud8603]

Part that second paragraph was starting to remind me of George Carlin's "A Modern Man" routine for a minute.

Anyway, I second what ausador said. Find a place online to share and discuss your writing; the Creative Outlets forum on here is a good place to start.

[trike]

I would take a creative writing class and find a good buddy in that class with whom you can discuss writing with. Its invaluable because often those friends will be the ones who can honestly judge your work, give you pointers, proofread or whatever else you need.

[dantesvirgil]

Well, I have mixed feelings about creative writing classes and online writing groups, and they actually come from my professional position at the university with writing and rhetoric and just being around my colleagues. I guess I would say that ultimately, you have to be really choosy. Often an online group can suck time away from actual writing towards whatever it is you think you want to do with your writing. We have an MFA program at my university (and an undergrad degree) in various types of writing -- poetry, nonfic, fic, etc. I wouldn't be in a workshop with any of them, because it's one giant writing-penis comparison project. Feedback is sometimes honest, sometimes not. Most people who are published don't have an MFA in creative writing nor have they taken classes in it. For what it sounds like you want to do, you'd be better off taking research based classes with a strong writing component (the university should have them marked usually with a "W" to show they're "writing intensive") and reading lots of journal articles/examples of the kind of stuff you want to do so you get a feel for the genre and its conventions. It would be better if you could complete some shorter pieces before you try to bang out a novel, try to get a few things in magazines/journals or online e-zines/e-journals, so you have a bit of credibility. The book market is horrifically tight, and you'll need an agent; agents are unwilling to take on new prospects unless they are A) well connected B) extraordinarily good (very, very, very rarely is a new author "extraordinary" in his first work) C) proven, meaning "can get published somewhere somehow".

The truth is that if you want to be a "master" of writing, you have to write constantly. You have to put in the work. You have to commit for a few hours each day all year long at the bare minimum. The best writers, those whose work is prolific, write upwards of 8 hours or more per day -- that's actual writing, not reading stuff or researching, although that's part of it, but actually typing stuff out on the computer or writing it out by hand, reworking your text. It's not something to just leave your job and jump into, because big success, by which I mean "pays your bills" success, is rare and there is just as much drafting and editing as there is actual creation. So you need to look at writing as a "part time job." Rejection is common, even for very famous writers. Some of them (James Joyce, I think) papered a room with rejection letters from editors. Submissions for many places are backed up for a couple of years and many places won't take unsolicited manuscripts, meaning we're back to the agent again.

I think most people have a little secret place in their soul that makes them think they could be a writer if they just "applied" themselves. Everyone thinks they have a novel in them. I'm not trying to knock your dream. But I am saying that what separates the wishers from the doers is work. Lots of it. Sometimes years worth of it. For hours a day. You have to put the practice in to get better, for one thing, because you can always be better. All first drafts are shitty. Even if you manage to sell a manuscript, it'll come back to you with red marks all over it from the editor, telling you basically how shitty it is and how you still need to freaking work on it some more.

So, I would say that if you want to do it, decide that for now you're going to commit to, say, 2-3 hours per day of nothing but writing. Even if all you do is get some writing prompts and work on them (which you can find good ones online), you need to be working towards clarity in your writing. But that's 2-3 hours of nothing but writing (and probably some thinking, too, granted, not 2-3 hours straight). Outside of that time, start picking up magazines or journals that deal in the kind of thing you want to write about. See how they set up/organize the pieces, what kinds of things the editors seem to favor, that sort of thing. Do this for a year, and then ramp up your writing time to 3-4 hours for the next year, and so on. It takes work.

[Old Viking]

Unless you tend to write commercially, as an advertising copywriter, for instance, you are looking at a career that will help you keep your weight down.

[Nutcase]

May 19, 2009 20:12:32 GMT -5 Old Viking said:

Unless you tend to write commercially, as an advertising copywriter, for instance, you are looking at a career that will help you keep your weight down.

I'm a copywriter.

Stiff competition; flaccid compensation.

[dantesvirgil]

I think we can all agree that writing rarely pays the bills. Unless maybe you're a tech editor, like David D.G. (I think that's what he does). That pays some decent money.

You have to do it because you love doing it.

[skyfire]

For the very first little bit, write what you know / are most comfortable with. It'll help ease you into the process of writing, and the process of doing research won't be so grating since you won't need to reference quite so much.

Also, be prepared for many, many frustrating days ahead of you. If you can't handle writer's block, constant rejections, and your stuff being edited to death, then you're in the wrong profession.