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/lit/ - Literature

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6815256 No.6815256 [Reply] [Original]

Is / has anybody here avoided a full-time "career" and sacrificed the sort of comforts associated with said career for the sake of dedicating yourself to writing?

If so, how old are you and what do you do for rent etc?

>> No.6815275

I dropped out of high-school to write poetry.
Published a book, got good reviews, you can't live off poetry but it was enough for uni to take me.

I'm 23, I published at 19.

>> No.6815278

>>6815275
Are you still at uni or do you work?

I work full-time while trying to write and I feel like I'm allowing myself to be cucked into living a kind of cliched, "weekend-warrior" lifestyle where I'm just too tired and spent to really focus on my writing.

>> No.6815284

>>6815256
Not for writing but for college degrees.

I won the lottery when it came to family. My parents are rich, and the allow me to keep enrolling in classes. I'm currently 29 years old, I have 3 AA degrees, 1 BS 2 BAs and 1 MA currently working on a second Masters/Doctorate Program.

My only "job" for the past 6 years is tutoring undergrads and working as a research assistant.

>> No.6815289

>>6815284
Ignatius pls

>> No.6815297
File: 495 KB, 500x375, 1389213852269.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6815297

>>6815256
>sacrificed the sort of comforts associated with said career
>sacrificed

I think you mean, "Who here is an entitled trust-fund kid who is so superfluous and lacking in skill that they will never experience a day of actual work?"

>>6815284
How do you live your life without feeling like a burden who never achieved anything? I'm lower-middle class and even I feel terrible when my parents give me handouts for rent. Genuine Q

>> No.6815306

>>6815297
OP here. I meant sacrificed as in giving up or avoiding a 9 - 6 office job for the sake of dedicating as much time and energy as possible to writing, therefore inviting others to pity or ridicule you and dismiss you as a deluded manchild.

>> No.6815309

>>6815256
I'm a photographer

I spend most of time doing very little in terms of capital gain: exercising, reading, browsing online etc.
When the money runs out I take a gig, usually a wedding or a concert, and I make up to £1000 depending on how much I spend on the wedding album, canvases etc.

I'm in university right now

>> No.6815320

>>6815284
What's your long-term plan? This doesn't seem remotely efficient, as fun and insightful all this education sounds

>> No.6815322

>>6815297
>How do you live your life without feeling like a burden who never achieved anything?

My contribution, thus far, is my published work in academic journals.

> I'm lower-middle class and even I feel terrible when my parents give me handouts for rent.

My family has a lot of money, more than we could spend in 5 lifetimes. I assume, values, priorities, and interests are significantly different when money is no longer a concern.

>> No.6815329

>>6815320
Education is not a means to an end for someone like myself. I go through the motions because it's a lifestyle. However that said, I do plan to teach at a University once I finish my Doctorate program. Without a doubt, I will continue researching, writing, and publishing.

>> No.6815347

>>6815329
Could I be your girlfriend if you let me live with your for free?

>> No.6815348

>>6815256
I'd like to say I "sacrificed" it but the truth is I never really had one. I had a full time job at one point but it was awful and the pay was shit. I currently live rent and expense-free by mooching off my relatives.

>> No.6815352

>>6815348
Where do you live and what are your ambitions?

Also how old are you?

>> No.6815408

bump

>> No.6815418

>>6815352
NYC. Ambitions? I have a bunch of stuff I want to get published. I'm sorta kinda looking for work, but not all that enthusiastically.

I'm 24.

>> No.6815430

I don't mind living that ascetic lifestyle so I live in a small shitty apartment that's a kitchen with a bed and a desk in it.
I also shower using cold water and never turn the heater on because I'm not a little bitch, so my part time job covers my expenses just fine.

>> No.6815440

>>6815418
Do you fear long-term unemployment and the financial insecurity, lack of female attraction etc that come with that?

>> No.6815442

>>6815440
>lack of female attraction
literally the dumbest reason not to do something

>> No.6815452

>>6815440
Not really, no. I don't really stress over things like that.

>> No.6815454

>>6815430
Age?
Location?

>> No.6815462

>>6815452
How come?

I stress like fuck over it. What are your friends doign with their lives?

>> No.6815467

>>6815462
I'm just kindof an apathetic person in general. Like some people freak out if they think the car they're in is about to crash and kill them, I tend to be like "ok, if I die, I die." If there's anything my life has taught me it's that caring is often a waste of time and energy.

>> No.6815525

dropped out of school at 16, at that time it didn't have anything to do with writing.
i'm 19 now, have been writing serious for about a year. i don't have a backup plan, but i occasionally perform, act, dance, ...
it feels like a gave up a conventional career, or maybe even one in academics.
this means i'm in between poor and broke most of the time. i sell second hand books and cool stuff, and sometimes i do temporary jobs
have lived in houses, student rooms and lofts, right now i'm squatting.


i think i should start dating someone who is well-off, and get her to take care of me.

to make matters worse, i'm focusing on poetry and English is not my main language.

>> No.6815541

>>6815454
Does that really matter?
I live in Western Europe, I'll tell you that much.

If you're wondering where I work; I work at an Ikea kind of place, I think it's best described as a retail furnishing warehouse(?), but I don't know how that shit works in Ameristan/other countries.
Either way not really glamorous super ez gigolo mode, but it's more than bearable, so it's cool with me.

>> No.6815559

>>6815467
don't kid yourself. when you're faced with a visceral situation, you'll shit your pants too.

>> No.6815566

>>6815322
You haven't contributed anything until you've murdered your parents

>> No.6815568

>>6815559
Nah. I've been in plenty. Sure I'd prefer not to die, but I don't care as much you'd think.

>> No.6815675

>>6815568
If you'd be so kind as to name a couple of these situations you've been in, surely this should be no problem on an anonymous imageboard, that would be great.

>> No.6815698

>>6815467
try to drown yourself by holding your head under shallow water, if you succeed I'll agree that you're as apathetic as you say. if not, you're just fronting

>> No.6815751

>>6815675
Just the usual stuff. Very close calls with cars both as a pedestrian and as a driver (the worst one was probably when I completely lost control on an icy hill-like street in the winter, I could've very easily crashed into something or gone into incoming traffic), Asthma attacks that I've been hospitalized for several times as a kid, some other thing I caught at one point that felt like it could've killed me, etc.

>>6815698
I don't care enough to do whatever retarded things you may have in mind just to prove a point.

>> No.6815755
File: 9 KB, 429x307, frog face.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6815755

>>6815256
I sacrificed everything not in order to right but to do sweet fuck all tbh.

>> No.6815765

my girlfriend and I live below the poverty line working seasonal jobs and i have tons of time to read and write, it's pretty nice

>> No.6815804

>>6815698
if you don't "freak out" in a car crash then you're probably just stupid

>> No.6815813

>>6815430
>I don't mind living that ascetic lifestyle so I live in a small shitty apartment that's a kitchen with a bed and a desk in it.

dude, how the fuck do you afford that? do you live in like a tiny town or somethinng?

>> No.6815836

>>6815804
What's there to freak out about? Reacting/trying to stop it is one thing but there comes a point where your actions won't affect the outcome and you'll live or die regardless of what you do or feel. Freaking out isn't going to do anything for you then.

>> No.6815842

>>6815765
Are you the guy who cleans trains?

If not, how old are you and how did you meet your girlfriend?

I would do anything for a cute girlfriend who doesn't car how much I make

>> No.6815851

>>6815842

It's only cute to a majority of girls or "okay" when you're like 25 or below. When you're uppin on 30 and in poverty most will start to get bugged i imagine no matter how good your personality is if they're decent stock.

>> No.6815868

>>6815851
This is incredibly depressing. I think most men who work shitty jobs only do so because they would otherwise have no chance with girls, even if they're getting nowhere at the moment. This world is full of suffering, every avenue has its own allotted share of suffering. I feel suicidal.

>> No.6815909
File: 86 KB, 577x398, Gautama-Buddha.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6815909

>>6815868
Just disregard females, it's the solution to most of your problems. Once you disregard females you magically find yourself free to live authentically.

>> No.6815919

>>6815909
Before going on a killing spree, UC Santa Barbara shooter Elliot Rodger had a meeting with a Buddhist monk.

The Monk asked him not to say a word and mentally ponder the questions and subsequent implications; if he agreed, he could then progress down the path of enlightenment.

Sat with crossed legs and an eager mind, Elliot listened to the monk.

"First, there is dukkha," the monk began, and briefly explained that the Sanskrit word dukkha is crudely translated as suffering, though is a much wider concept.

Eliot pondered this, and mentally agreed, there is indeed suffering.

"Second, there is origin of Dukkha," said the monk.

Again Elliot pondered. Yes, the origin of all the suffering in my life has been women. It's pretty clear.

"Third, there is cessation of suffering."

I guess cessation of women would be cessation of my suffering, Elliot mused.

"Fourth, there is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering"

Elliot stood up instantly. He thanked the monk and told him he knew exactly what needed to be done.

>> No.6816015

My girlfriend is a STEM major who doesn't really get literature and believes in my writing. She wins the bread, and I sit at home in a nice apartment waiting for the day she dumps me for a guy with an income. Until then, easy street brah.

>> No.6816044

>>6815919
Nice fanfic.

>> No.6816061

What a depressing thread

One of my oldest friends just cut all contact with me for seemingly no reason, he even went out of his way to tell me via text he's blocking me even though we only talk through Facebook.

My only other two friends are really busy with college and their girlfriends so I pretty much have no one now.

To keep it /lit/, I've been meaning to write a book for 4 years but I'm too much of a pussy to start, also don't have/can't afford a computer.

>> No.6816078

>>6816061
Buy some 99 cent store notebooks. You can write in those until you get the chance to type it out.

>> No.6816081

>>6816061
That's weird that he did that. I don't have facebook but sometimes I regret not having an account as there are a handful of people I wouldn't mind talking to. I don't talk to anyone IRL and it's getting depressing the older I get.

>> No.6816312

>>6815525

become a house husband!

>> No.6816330

I do occasional jobs and float around in academia. I have enough money to make a basic living as a landlord so I'll probably do that.

>> No.6816394

>>6815442

Female attraction is the reason we do most things, weather or not we're concious of it or not is a different story.

>> No.6816410

>>6815322

Certainly, your values are significantly different than the majority of the world.

>> No.6816953

>>6815525
Potential indigent detected.

>> No.6817017

>>6815256
>not just getting a full time job with loads of down time so you can read/write while 'working'

>> No.6817032

I'e explored a few options relating to this over the past few years, and what I've learned is that it's not has difficult as it may seem.

The hardest part for me is going long stretches without dating. Meeting girls with the possibility of hooking up isn't what I mean, that doesn't become harder, but actual dating does. I just don't have the money for it. Anyway, if you can get past that then your only real challenge is giving up your various indulgences. Cut the netflix, spotify, or whatever subscriptions and start pirating. Really you should pirate everything, books included. Shop wiser when it comes to food, buy the absolute necessities a couple of times a year when it comes to clothes. I guess this can be summed up by just living frugal and below your means.

As far as being a writer or whatever career you wish to pursue, I can't help you there. I don't believe the typical avenues of hoping to get published work when you're dodging a 9-5 because that's a waiting game. You have to think of other ways to make money or at least make your work directly profitable. Have fun figuring that out.

>> No.6817146

>>6815751
y care to respond
y care

>> No.6817177

>>6815751
i've been a similar situation regarding the car. that isn't exactly a close call. i had enough time to maneuver the wheels and hit the e-break in a matter of idk, 10-15 secs? i still crashed into a tree, but it didn't freak me out. i think if my car had been like flipping over then, yeah, i'd shit my pants, but losing control on an icey path isn't what i'd calledd near death experience. funny enough i also had asthma attacks put me in the hospital as a kid. i don't remember much of them. i do remember getting mauled by a dog though and screaming that i didn't wanna die as i bled profusely in pain. that shit sucked.

>> No.6817188

24
work part time, dont spend money except on rent and bills

>> No.6817203

>>6816061
welcome to adulthood. older you get, the more independent you become by no choice of your own.

>> No.6817226

>>6815284
hey, rad, this is more or less my plan. I can't wait to get away with this college + litterchure shit until I'm thirty and I suddenly realize I'm completely ill-prepared for adult life.

>> No.6817339

>>6815851
>>6815868
Girls only care if you're jacked or extremely attractive. Is financial security really that much of a factor? Even if it were, I'd feel very insecure. She'd probably be staring at all these better-looking guys. Only my job would make her stay with me.

>> No.6817362

>>6817339
man, all you guys have such horribly onesided visions of sexual relationships...
no offense anons, but do y'all need a hug?
seriously, i've experienced plenty of nastiness from girls (so far, admit i'm young), but even i know real life is more complicated, unpredictable and human than "yo git ripped git money git laid"
i'm honestly beginning to doubt any of y'all have the confidence to write fuckall.

>> No.6817373

>>6817362
I suspect most of the posters who talk that way are imports and/or crossposters from /r9k/, /pol/ or both.

>> No.6817384

>>6817362
I don't write. I've just taken up reading lately and have found some great suggestions on here.

Anyway, what do you think girls like? I took a "psychology" class in college a couple years back, and we did and in-class activity where guys and girls listed what they wanted in an ideal partner. Most of them had to do with looks and money. Then again, I go to a business school.

You don't think that most girls want a guy who's jacked, with a strong jawline and six-pack? I admit that I have no confidence at all. I'm 21, but can't imagine myself ever dating; I can't see any girl finding me interesting or willing to put up with my avoidant personality.

>> No.6817387

>>6817373
right? seriously, have y'all never even read a book portraying real human relationships?
shit, even Tao Lin could get laid, before he was even famous, just by occasionally ceasing to be autistic as fuck.
And once again i'm saying this as an anon who has spent more years of sexual maturity jerking off and crying than getting laid.
HAVE SOME FUCKING HOPE YOU GODDAMN SAD SACKS

>> No.6817399

>>6817384
honestly anon, there's your fuckin' problem. I seriously recommend you give up all thought of girls for a while, and focus on hating yourself a little less.
Why should a girl find you attractive if you think fo yourself as unattractive? Even if they like you instinctively it will feel to them like you dont want to be talked to, because really, you dont.
Please forgive yourself for that bullshit and learn to accept yourself a little bit before going on here and spouting bullshit about needing money or muscles to get laid, especially at our age, jesus. If you were 41 and still nowhere in life i could understand your hopelessness, but as is, you're just enforcing stereotypes that excuse you from dealing with yourself.
Are you only interested in DD tits and pornstar level ass? Are you a caricature of the desires of men? No? Then why do you expect women to desire only what caricatures of women desire?
...also, for future reference, unless you wanna talk about books, please get the fuck out to /soc/.

>> No.6817406

>>6817384
I have a job, am not jacked, don't have a six-pack (who has? these things don't last for long anyway) and yet I am married to an actual woman, and had relationships with a few before

Women think more like men than I thought at your age, it's not that hard once you stop being an autist (I was a weird dweeb and then decided to not be such a child anymore)

Read Vizinczey's In Praise Of Older Women

>> No.6817408

>>6817384
Just gain some confidence in yourself and become someone you like. This is a necessity whether you date again or not.

>> No.6817423

>>6817406
>Women think more like men than I thought at your age, it's not that hard once you stop being an autist (I was a weird dweeb and then decided to not be such a child anymore)

SO. MUCH. THIS.
Seriously, i'm fuckin' 20 years old and I can tell you that they're not so hard to deal with (the ones that aren't insane) if you just talk to them like, you know, like, like, PEOPLE. They're not some other species, you know? They pretty much feel the same feelings you do.

>> No.6817428

>>6817423
succubi detected

>> No.6817431

>>6817406
>Read Vizinczey's In Praise Of Older Women
pdf or epub please

>> No.6817437

the fact that you need to read a book tilted "In Praise Of Women" (topkek) tells you more than that book by itself ever could

>> No.6817440

>>6816394
You can attribute something to anything, doesn't mean it's true.

>> No.6817441

>>6817437
It's pretty funny to remove words from titles and change their meaning.

>> No.6817452

>>6817423
>he thinks females are people
>not animals

>> No.6817456

>>6817441
older women makes it even worse, there's literally nothing an older woman can offer to a man. she is useful as a mother, but to a partner she might at best be a caricature of the past. if he were to make love to her, he would need to go back in time to enjoy it. any pleasure obtained whatsoever would be through nostalgia.

>> No.6817458

>>6815284
What have you studied and what are your fields of interest and research?

>> No.6817466

>>6815284
you're doing god's work anon

>> No.6817470

>>6815347
I have a wife, and a son.

>>6816410
Indeed.

>> No.6817485

>>6817428
yup. ate my heart right out, best they could, the insecure little cunts. but in the end i'm sane and happy and they're still broken, and isn't that really much sadder than that i got cuck'd and insulted? and but plus the pussy was great tho.

>> No.6817527

>>6815755
>not in order to right

prob a good idea tbh

>> No.6817583

>>6815309
how to into

>> No.6817591

>>6815322
Can you pay for my tuition plz I will appreciate it

>> No.6817669

I am a programmer and I write at least an hour a day at work

>> No.6817734

I work part time 24 hours a week. Way more time to do what I want and just enough cash to get by.

>> No.6817745

>>6817583
Take photographs - no, really, it's that easy. For further information, visit /p/.

>> No.6817765
File: 22 KB, 206x235, 1299606591865.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6817765

>>6815289

Underrated post

>> No.6819094 [DELETED] 

>>6817423
>implying this is true

Talk to qts as "people" and you quickly find yourself orbiting in the betazone

>> No.6819220

bump

>> No.6819345

>>6817669
>writing at work

Literally pleb trash. Nothing quality will come of this.

>> No.6819466

I don't understand why threads like this aren't more popular?

Is nobody on /lit/ trying to write?

Or is everyone here in college?

>> No.6819479

>>6815256
I was in college for 5 years, age 16->21 with a BS in Biology towards an MA in Neuroscience, and I dropped out after deciding labcoatshit was gay and unfulfilling. I was more interested in pursuing writing, I'm happier as a starving artist than some faggot injecting mice with skincare products 40 hours a week and recording the results on a spreadsheet.

Now I'm 23 and I can afford a meager living through a wide series of internet turnkey operations and secondhand media sales. My plan is to keep on doing this until I get published, which I'm pretty confident in happening as I cut down on personal artistic expression in favor of maximum pandering to YA audiences and publishers. I can worry about my savant beret shit after I'm published and have a reputation.

>> No.6819507

>>6819094
>>>/r9k/

>> No.6819598

>>6819507
>>>reddit

>> No.6819599

>>6819479
>a wide series of internet turnkey operations and secondhand media sales.

Details?

>> No.6819617

>>6815256
27
gave up career at CBS doing graphic design because it was soul crushing and i didn't feel creative. now i work as a janitor to pay bills and its still soul crushing.

>> No.6819637

>>6819466
Because they tend to degenerate into stupid shit really quickly. Most of the aspiring writers or would-be literary critics here are insecure as fuck to the point where they don't have anything worthwhile to say about writing.

>> No.6819647

>>6819598
>>6819507
>psychiatric ward

>> No.6819659

>>6819617
Do you have a qt3.14?

>> No.6820179

>>6817017
I work part time as a janitor;
They give me shifts that are 2x longer than I actually need to get the work done.
I just sit in the security cameras' blind spots and write bad poems about wage slavery.

>> No.6820272

>>6815256
I'm 22. I'm a graphic designer, but I hate it. I'm finishing college and I intend to finish and publish my novel this year. Life's pretty much a trainwreck most of the time around here since I spend half of my money in medication for depression and anxiety. If I ever managed to write something that sells so I could live without having a "normal job", I'd be happy. That's basically all I want for my life. I have a qt3.14 gf and I'm not sure if she really gives a shit about me since I'm a huge failure in everything, but she helps me to avoid suicide.

>> No.6820432

>>6815289
>>6817765

samefag

>> No.6820508

>>6815256
So far I guess:
>Same as a lot of people, my family is relatively wealthy
>they've paid my rent and tuition
>right out of high school, I went and got a B.A in Music Composition (which was stupid)
>So now I teach guitar lessons and I'm in an MFA program for writing
>my parents still pay for basically everything
>eventually I'll probably go on to teach in a university setting
>I'm just deciding whether or not I want to get my PHD in English first.

>> No.6820979

>>6820508
that seems pretty dope.

>> No.6820984

>>6820272
>graphic designer

what do you do exactly?

>> No.6821093

>>6815289
Hahahahaha

>> No.6821166

I just quit my job 2 weeks ago to do this. Dedicating myself to my novel and trying to write paid articles in the meantime.

>> No.6821594

>>6820984
Advertising mostly. People send stuff and I make videos for them.

>> No.6821687

>>6817423
>>6817406
>"Be yourself" tier advice

>> No.6821707

>>6817431
epub here

http://gen.lib.rus.ec/search.php?req=+In+Praise+Of+Older+Women&lg_topic=libgen&open=0&view=simple&phrase=1&column=def

>> No.6822276
File: 32 KB, 640x360, 1436812051726.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6822276

>never went to high school
>worked day labour and did nothing for ten years
>self-taught
>got GED, went to university
>now going to grad school for long haul (MA-->PhD)
>priorities are so fucked by years of living unconventionally that I don't miss creature comforts at all and have no guilt over not having 2.5 kids and a second mortgage
>genuinely just love getting up every day and reading/writing, both for my actual research, and for a dozen side projects and short stories i'm trying to get published
>gonna be doing this for the rest of my life
>don't notice or care about fixed income at all, everything I want in life is free from libraries
>even if it takes years to get on the tenure track I don't give a shit because I don't even care about the prestige of academia and I genuinely just want to research and write
>actually liking what i do means i did reasonably well enough to get financial support from uni
>tfw i'm decently set for life as long as i keep working hard and nothing terrible happens

>> No.6822537

>>6822276
I'm in a similar boat, and am happy you're happy doing what I'd like to do as well.

But ...

>genuinely just want to research and write

... how can you stand being on /lit/?

>> No.6823697

bump

>> No.6823722

>>6822276
>pls be conservative

>> No.6823758

>>6822276
you can also have kids at like 50 as a man.

its really not that big a deal, big whoop you die when they are 25-30 or whatever, they will live.

slam some 20yrold pussy when you are in your late 40's. this is honestly the best way to do it.

>> No.6823876

>>6817423
OH. MY. (INHALES FROM INHALER) GOD. SO. MUCH. THIS...

>> No.6824015

>>6816015
She believes in YOU, not you're writing. Huge difference.

>> No.6824058

>>6824015
>tfw no qt gf who believes in you

Truly, truly crushing

>> No.6824086

>>6815297
>works like a bitch for someone who shits on him daily just so he can eat and spend his life wishing he had the means to not hate his existence every day.
>calls modern-day wage-slavery "contributing" to society
Jealousy sucks, sorry you're not lucky enough to pass GO in the game of life.

>> No.6824089

>>6815440
>lack of female attraction
Unemployment is only a problem if you're broke. Most women will be attracted to men with confidence, regardless of what they do for work. It's only because society shits on anyone who isn't flipping burgers that a stigma has arisen that one must have a job to be worth anything. If you have the means financially not to have a job, and exude confidence in who you are, what you believe, and have a reason for not working that involves any form of ambition, women won't be a problem.

>> No.6824106

>>6815755
>not in order to right
See, this is the problem with unemployment for the sake of writing. Too often it is considered an easy excuse for inactivity, given that one can simply "claim" they're writing when in fact they're doing fuck all.

I don't have a job. I write because I have the means to take that risk. But I do write, 6-8 hours a day, and if I really get into something and fear losing the inspiration, I've gone as long as 12 hours with breaks in between.

The problem isn't whether you have a job while writing, it's whether you are writing so you don't have to have a job. If you write because it's your passion, and you actually WRITE, fuck anyone who says you have to have a job and get paid? Unless you need to eat, no one has the right to judge you. It's only the idiots who do it to get a pass on actually working who make other writers look bad.

>> No.6824112

>>6824106
How do you have the means to do that?

I mean how do you pay rent, utilities, living costs etc?

>> No.6824132

>>6824112
I have a wealthy family and supportive wife. If I didn't, I would work part-time, live with friends and split the rent, and still try to get in 4-6 hours of writing a day.

I guess my point is, judging someone in the position to forgo a job and write is ridiculous. Given the opportunity, anyone passionate about writing should dedicate themselves fully to it. If you have to work, by all means work, but people shouldn't assume someone is a lazy trust-fund baby sitting on their ass just because they don't go 9-5 in a cubicle (being lazy and sitting on their ass anyways, I might add).

As for contributing to society, I would trade one beautiful piece of writing for all the "contributions" the generic, hack jobs most people work nowadays provide to society. Good writing will live on, as we've seen, while the corporate work, bureaucratic paper-pushing, and general asshattery will be forgotten the moment one wage-slave dies and gets shoveled from their seat for the next "hard-working" young "go-getter."

>> No.6824144

>>6824132
Well there you go, most of us aren't lucky to have that shit. You are a trust-fund baby, and people who work in "cubicles" would rather spend the inactive hours in work at home writing / reading but unfortunately they're paid to be there. I agree with your sentiment however, though unlike you I have zero connections and a fucked up family meaning I have no home.

>> No.6824158

Working 35 hours a week (40 h including overtime) some shitty warehouse job. On the weekdays I produce music (HipHop beats, not on the level to sell them yet though). On weekends I try to write 1000 words a day, which I always never make. Last weekend I played football the whole days.

>> No.6824173

>>6824158
The fact is you're never going to make good beats when you're competing with tens of thousands of college-age kids and people working part-time who are putting way more energy into doing so. Working full-time encourages your brain to treat your job as a the focal point of your existence, and your dreams, subconcious etc lends its energies more to your job than to your ambitions, since it's under little pressure (poverty, shame of part-time employment, etc) to focus its energies elsewhere.

No musician, writer or painters has ever produced anything while working full-time. Jandek supposedly has a white-collar job and look how shitty his music is.

>> No.6824186

>>6824144
I fully agree with you. I never said it wasn't a necessity to work in a cubicle, or that I didn't come from a trust-fund. Here's what I said:
>people shouldn't assume someone is a LAZY trust-fund baby sitting on their ass
>given the opportunity, anyone passionate about writing should dedicate themselves fully to it (in whatever capacity they can muster)
>judging someone in the position to forgo a job and write is ridiculous (I admit I'm guilty of hypocrisy for assuming a 9-5 worker sits on their lazy ass, but I was trying to make a point)

Not arguing with you, I think we're on the same page, even if we happen to come from a different book. I'm saying even if one has the means, they may be doing all that they can with the opportunity presented. Having a job or not having a job can be completely removed from the comparison, it is merely a question of -- if you love writing, are you doing all that you can to write?

If the answer is yes, it may mean a 9-5'er is working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and writing 3-4 hours on the weekends. That may be the best they can do. Or a trust-fund baby is writing 6-8 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. The trouble is people like "i right so i dont have to work" propagate the overwhelmingly-perceived stereotype of the latter. It may be true. I personally try to constantly write, better myself, and take on projects, regardless of whether I'm being paid for them.

It sucks about the connections and family life, anon. I sincerely hope you get to live out your dream. Don't forget to chase it, even if you have to work unlike me. You may create something more beautiful in 1 hour of work than I could make in a lifetime.

>> No.6824192

>>6824173
>no musician, writer, or painters has ever produced anything while working full-time
I'm not sure I believe this, but I lack any current examples off the top of my head.

You have a good point though, for most of us mortals, it takes an incredible amount of practice and repetition to learn what works and what doesn't. That's another problem with writing. People think it somehow differs from every other skill/career/hobby in the world, that someone can sit down, put pen to paper, and be an exceptional writer.

I agree with you, it is hard to be exceptional at writing when society pressures individuals to be exceptional at their jobs. Sure, you can be complacent and hold down a job, but then you're coming home to write with the mindset of drone-like mediocrity.

>> No.6824201

>>6824186
Nice post, dude. I wish you well too.

>>6824192
It's pretty much true. You'll rarely find someone working full-time who has also the time, energy etc to produce great art. Poets are an occasional exception. I've done my research into this and it's the conclusion I've been forced to accept.

>> No.6824230

>>6824201
I've been told similar, which led to my self-induced unemployment. I was working a thankless job for $20 an hour (not bad mind you) just to be a part of the rat race, despite receiving more than enough to live without it. I talked to some writers who had been successful and was told work would prevent me from ever succeeding at what I truly wanted to do. So I quit.

I'm somewhat glad to hear yet another confirmation of this, but also saddened. Imagine how many incredible writers/poets/artists may have been lost to mediocrity trying to keep food in their mouths.

>> No.6824232

>>6817362
>>6817387
>muh post-modern "sex is just sex" world-view

I am not kidding when I think you people have no soul or value.

>> No.6824234

>>6824192
>no musician, writer, or painters has ever produced anything while working full-time

Don't listen to this guy, this is a meme. /lit/ is elitist and has bottomless contempt for the working class. And besides, you can hone your craft now and quit your job if you ever think you have the ability to write (or whatever) full-time.

>> No.6824240

>>6824234
I'm the anon that doesn't work, but it's good to hear another opinion on the matter. I don't have a hatred for the working class, I just didn't need the money and wanted more time to write.

Here's hoping it does lead to full-time work. I don't even care about making money. The feeling of knowing my work had an impact on others is as close to good sex as you can get without having good sex. The difference is the feeling lasts more than fifteen to twenty minutes.

>> No.6824241

>>6824232
>muh antiquated "women only want muscles and money" worldview

And I'm not kidding when I say you are a broken human being completely incapable of trust.

>> No.6824254

>>6824241
That's the problem. Woman don;t value stability anymore, like at all and would cheat on their moneybags easily. Low-tier man get sex, which would mean that woman arent making the right choices.
>inb4 they drop their preferences as they age

And how is this retribution for their disregard for the right choice in their 20s?

>> No.6824257

I work in aerospace, which requires very frequent breaks for safety reasons and so I only actually work for half or less of the day. Plenty of time for writing there.

Keeping up at least part-time work is probably better for most of /lit/- I have friends who have published novels, and they're all either still working full-time or have gone down to four days a week at best. It takes around ten years on average to go full-time from the date of your first published novel, and even many popular authors still work for universities and colleges to supplement their income. Don't get into a financial black hole gambling on the chances that you will write one of the handful of instant success stories out there, even most best-selling novels will not set you up for long.

>> No.6824261

>>6824240
Yeah, that's fair. I wasn't particularly targeting you in saying that; /lit/ in general likes to think they're above people for reading a handful of meme books though. As a musician, I know what you mean about the feeling of having your work impact people, though. Simultaneously nerve-wracking and elating, among a lot of other emotions.

Also to that other guy, try getting a job where you don't have to do anything and nobody will care if you write. I was night clerk at a failing hotel for awhile and it was perfect.

>> No.6824271

>>6824234
Name seven writers who have written something of value since 1950 while working full-time.

>> No.6824272

>>6824261
While it's a meme opinion there's some truth to it. The fact of the matter is it's a lot harder to make something good while you're working full time and even if you do it'll take a lot longer than it could have if you were working on it full time instead of in bits and pieces as you went along.

>> No.6824278

>>6824261
It's impossible to produce anything of value while working full-time.

>> No.6824287

>>6824278

keep telling yourself that neet lel

>> No.6824291

>>6824287
>implying I'm NEET

I've also done my research, and that means searching out the biographies of dozens of writers to see what their lives were like when writing their first novel.

>> No.6824300

>>6824291
I'm going to be a great actor because I read a lot of great actor's wikipedia pages

>> No.6824310

>>6824300
>dat logic

Wow you're retarded. Did I say I was trying to be a writer?

Also

>I-Ill be the f-first person ever to write something of worth despite slaving away and destroying my mind for the past nine hour.

>> No.6824321

>>6824300
I learned acting from Marlon Brando's wikipedia page and that one chapter of Infinite Jest!

>> No.6824329

>>6824310
This thread is about becoming a writer. If you're not here to discuss the topic then you should stop posting.

>> No.6824341

>>6824329
Don't sublimate office frustrations by attacking me bucko

>> No.6824352

Just want to note, I'm the poster who was unemployed, but I'm not in the above argument. I see both sides and think that judgment should be put aside on both counts, because there are people who work 9-5 jobs and think they can sit down, practice and effort be damned, and write like it's a joke hobby that anyone can do. So they sit down, write crap, and make a bad name for the "hobbyist writer." Then there are the trust-fund kids such as myself who have the means to do whatever they want, but some use writing as an excuse to do nothing and claim it as work. They give a bad name to those who take the opportunity and give it their best, regardless of spare time.

That's my personal opinion. People need to suspend judgment for the individual, not their financial state or choices in regards to their writing career.

>> No.6824360

>>6824341
You're the one trolling this thread and acting like a little bitch when you get called out on it

>> No.6824362

>>6824271

Many of the greatest writers actually had early careers and travelled and did shit in their lives before they were able to start writing full time, they weren't NEETs who finished school, became shut-ins, and immediately wrote literary masterpieces in their mother's basement.

>> No.6824382

>>6824291

>dozens of writers

lel

you're not gna make it

>> No.6824388

>>6824360
>called out

On what? I'm the one with the vast frame of reference associated with this topic

>> No.6824393

>>6824362
>dat delusion

Is this how you justify your years of living like a hedonistic pleb?

I can name at least a dozen authors who did exactly that. One of them is the national writer of Turkey, one of them won the Pulitzer.

>> No.6824419

>>6817456
>women are only good for sex
>and also only young women are attractive

better get that six pack and well paying job stuff going, then, if you think like that

>> No.6824424

>>6817456
>he hasn't read Franklin's Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress
>grillslaughing_at_this_autist.tiff

>> No.6824433

>>6824424
>Because in every Animal that walks upright, the Deficiency of the Fluids that fill the Muscles appears first in the highest Part: The Face first grows lank and wrinkled; then the Neck; then the Breast and Arms; the lower Parts continuing to the last as plump as ever: So that covering all above with a Basket, and regarding only what is below the Girdle, it is impossible of two Women to know an old from a young one

Yeah, nah, that's not true.

>> No.6824446

>>6824433
prime time pussy mirite

>> No.6824466

>>6824446
>prime time pussy
>prime time
>time

That's now what PTP stands for

>> No.6824547

>>6824466
peer to peer?

>> No.6825792
File: 82 KB, 1271x613, 1431808804608.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
[ERROR]

>>6817456
this tbh

i like fucking the occasional milf but women over 30 are like eating some raisins from an open dish in a waiting room, and women 18-25 are like drinking some fine red wine and fucking an 18-25 year old. it's seriously no comparison

people who think they appreciate older bitches are either a) deluding themselves and haven't actually tried it, or b) fetishists and their opinions don't apply to the vast majority of men

>> No.6825825

>>6825792
>you are deluding yourself if you think you are enjoying something

thanks for opening my mind. I should be more cautious about the things I "think" Im enjoying when in reality Im not

>> No.6825832

>>6825825
are you a bad enough dude to read the rest of the sentence you're replying to

>> No.6825838

>>6825792
18-25 are old ruined and bitter generally. 16yo is where it's at.

>> No.6825865

>>6824106
and you're a bad writer and all your efforts will come to nothing lol. same with everyone in this thread and on /lit/. may as well get a normal job so you can at least enjoy weekends and 2 weeks out of the year of leisure

>> No.6825873

>>6824106
>It's only the idiots who do it to get a pass on actually working who make other writers look bad.
I don't think you understand me, I don't pretend to right. I just do nothing.

>> No.6827426

>>6825865
You're confused. I don't have to work. I enjoy whatever time I want. I find that enjoyment in writing, regardless of success.

If I chose to I could never write, spend 7 days a week doing whatever I like, and still be financially comfortable.

>> No.6827762

>>6827426
>still be financially comfortable

lol

>> No.6827775

>>6827762
Explain why you find this humorous. Or is this a pitiful attempt at trolling?

>> No.6829055

Yes, I'm 29 years old and I write all day.
Also, I'm a richfag, so I don't have to worry about getting a job or that shit.

>> No.6829059

>>6829055
How did you get your money?

>> No.6829071

>>6815256
No because I really want a career. And not only that, but I think most people need one to be good writers as well written books stem from experience and hard work.
I also see myself as an untalented person for writing fiction, but talented for non fiction. So legal theory is something I want to write about one day.

>> No.6829081

>>6829071
You're retarded. No writers of any merit have written anything of value while working full-time. That's excluding poets, whose work requires less time.

>> No.6829101

>>6829081
Chekov, Wolfe, Tolkien, Eco, Kelsen of the top of my head have worked full time while writing their masterpieces. I'm sure we could find many more.

>> No.6829111

>>6829081
One more thing, poetry often requires more time, depending on the poet.

>> No.6829115

>>6829101
>Wolfe
He was a reporter who got to take time out to write his debut based on the strength of his articles

>Eco
Part-time lecturer

>Tolkien
Part-time lecturer

>Chekov
Occasional doctor (never worked 9-5)

>Kelsen
Literally who?
Also he wrote legal shit while working in a legal job and he was old as fuck when his books came out.

>> No.6829119

>>6829111
Yeah, nah. Sometimes it does take more time, especially with people who claimed to worry for days over the placement of a comma, but most poets can pump shit out in their spare time (nobody will read it though lol). Look at MA Literature courses, where a writer is required to submit 80,000 words and a poet is expect to submit a ~50 page portfolio.

>> No.6829140

>>6829119
Pretty sure you can't compare a 50 page poetry collection and 500 page novel. Compare it to an epic or a larger collection.
>>6829115
>>Wolfe
>He was a reporter who got to take time out to write his debut based on the strength of his articles
He was the editor who woke up at 5 am every day to write before his work. He clearly said so in a few interviews.
>Eco
>Part-time lecturer
Full time like all professors
>>Tolkien
>Part-time lecturer
Same here, lectures take only a part of your time. As a college professor you have a lot of other work which I wouldn't expect a 16 year old to know anyway.
>>Chekov
>Occasional doctor (never worked 9-5)
He lived mostly from his job and wrote on the road
>>Kelsen
>Literally who?
>Also he wrote legal shit while working in a legal job and he was old as fuck when his books came out.
He is the most important legal theorists in the past 150 years and as you can see he worked full time and wrote from experience as I've said in my post.

>> No.6829182

>>6829059
real estate

>> No.6829231

>>6829119
Fifty pages of verse would take longer to write than 80k of prose.
Prose is verse without the things that make verse difficult. If you honestly believe it takes longer to write a line of prose than a line of verse you're admitting your own inexperience with both. The average line of prose is either dialogue or description, neither of which take great deals of effort or thinking to write, at least not consistently, or else you end up with contrived over-wrought purple things. A line of verse is metrical, which in itself takes time, and since most forms of poetry are short, ie below fifty lines, each line has to make the most of itself. Diction and poetics both take a part; metaphor, simile, symbolism, etc are all way more abundant in verse than prose (not that they're absent from prose but not as common). Poetry takes much more effort and thinking than prose.

>> No.6829233

>>6829140
>like all professors

Kek nope

>> No.6829236

>>6829231
Deluded autist detected. In no way does a *good* novel take as long as a book of poems to complete.

>> No.6829275

>>6829236
Nice argument

>> No.6829353

>>6824466
the T stands for teen

>> No.6829696

Is spending 1 year for a 200 page novel good?