Should you? Should you be a writer? So many non-writers wanting to be
a writer and so many writers who haven't made it as a "published"
writer and so many writers who haven't made it as a "profitable" writer
ask this question.
I think the only people who don't are a) people
who always hated English classes and b) writers who live in beachfront
villas and have ghostwriters co-authoring their books.
When I was
little, my first dream profession wasn't writing. It was being a doctor,
like in the biography, Elizabeth Blackwell, First Woman Doctor, I read.
Then I wanted to be a private investigator, just like in the book Encyclopedia Brown that I obsessed over.
This
was soon followed by a 12-year goal (yes, 12 years!) of wanting to be a
fashion designer. This was after reading about Coco Chanel.
I should have soon figured out what all of these professional dreams had in common: reading.
I
was a fantastic reader. (If I do say so myself.) I remember in second
grade wanting to beat my older brothers' "Books Read in A School Year"
record, which was 200.
So I read 500.
Of course, I worked
the system. I was seven, so this meant I was allowed to read the very
short Little Miss series and the very, very short Beatrix Potter
stories. I racked up those 500 very quickly! But then that finished goal
gave me an epiphany: if I could read books that quickly, maybe I needed
to move on to bigger books.
And boy, did I. Wuthering Heights, Little Women, Tarzan: Lord of the Apes.
I still didn't want to be a writer at this point. (I was in my detective phase.)
Then
fifth grade came. I was still reading anywhere from one to two books a
day, and it only got worse when I found out about Harlequins. Wow. What a
world! As I read these books, I also started writing some stuff. Namely
a Book of Poems, which I typed by hand after school in my mom's first
grade classroom. We then photocopied it (most likely on the school's
copier--hey, it was sortakinda for school!) and then took it to my fifth
grade class.
And I sold it. And I sold out. (All 20 copies!)
Years later, I found out one of the boys in that class had kept the book and it was on the shelves next to his George RR Martin.
One gem from this book: How majestic and noble, so tall and so grand, like a night in white armor, when a friend lends a hand.
Yeah. I was cool.
Fifth
grade was also when I started entering--and winning!--essay contests.
From the ages of 10 through 18, I must have entered at least 50 essay
contests: Daughters of the American Revolution, Kiwanis, even an Arizona
Mining essay contest (which I won, thank you very much).
I even
won a national essay contest based on a travelogue series. It was sooooo
boring when I did it (it was a three-month commitment to watching
documentaries in the high school auditorium while everyone else my age
was jet-skiing on the lake or baking in their pools). But I stuck with
it.
Maybe my first time sticking to writing even if I didn't want to do it? Hmm.
Precedent #1 for Being a Published Writer was established: Stick With It Even If You Hate It (Right Then)
I
put myself through my bachelor's degree with essay contests. I went to
study...not English.
Advertising! And you know what? Today, I am still
so glad I studied advertising. We learned about demographics and white
noise and brainwashing and the art of persuasion via visuals and text.
During
college, I worked at the on-campus convenience store (the smell of
dirty mop water is still with me). A movie theater (the manager telling
me "I smelled tasty" is still with me). But my favorite job?
Working
PR for the student government. I designed logos and graphics for
rocking the vote at election time (do they still use that phrase,
"rocking the vote"?) and promoting leadership conferences.
I also
was in a sorority: Pi Beta Phi. It truly was a great experience,
teaching me to get along with 90 other women and having fun with them. I
was the Vice President my last year there. It was one of the best
experiences of my life, with some great stories that were lived!
My
minor was Fashion Merchandising. In other words, I took classes on the
history of fashion and how to dress store windows. It was great! I put
on a school fashion show for my 25,000-person university, and it sold
out! As part of this minor, I also took costume design and helped
costume the plays.
The song "Bobby! Bobby! Bobby Baby Bobby Booby Bobby!" is still in my head, decades later, from Company!
I
took no English courses during my bachelor's degree. I got ENG 101 and
102 out of the way in high school, so really and truly--I had no English
courses.
But I did write a bit. I wrote and drew a comic strip
for the college newspaper, Miss Priss. It was an experience. A good one
that went nowhere, but still, I was happy for having done it.
I
graduated and took a job out of fear of the unknown and a great starting
salary. I quit five months later. I lived at home for seven months. I
was the Generation X cliche.
A cliche who worked 29 days every
month, for 14 to 16 hours a day, at a coffee shop and a book store. I
was a cliche who was trying to work her way out of cliche.
I applied to grad school. I tried applying for creative writing. It didn't work out. Why?
I HAD NEVER TAKEN A COLLEGE-LEVEL ENGLISH COURSE! (Besides those ENG 101 and 102 courses as a high school senior.)
So
I applied for General English, thinking I could take some creative
writing courses without a declared major and re-attempt the MFA program.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Implementing the Plan.
I found Rhetoric.
Now
Rhetoric is the linear-thinking counterpart to creative writing. It's
the place where language is used as succinctly and precisely as
possible.
If Creative Writing is Oscar, Rhetoric is Felix.
But
I learned about language. And after a bachelor's without any English
Courses, I believe I logged in 82 hours of masters' level work during my
degree.
Which was, yes, Rhetoric.
Precedent #2 for Being a Published Writer was established: You
don't need to study creative writing. Study and live things that will
make you a better thinker and observer of this world you live in.
During
my master's, I worked at a bookstore and was known as The Book Goddess.
I knew pretty much any author you were looking for, and knew how to
find misplaced books. I truly was All-Seeing (at least at Hastings).
NOTE: Hastings very kindly stocked my books at its chain when I was traditionally published, something Barnes and Noble AND Borders didn't do. Yay you, Hastings!
Graduation
came. I had held a PR internship at a Native American museum. But I
wanted another internship. A writing-based internship. And so I applied
to the only place you should go if you want to be a writer:
New York City.
What happens now? Read the next installment: So How Exactly Am I Supposed to Know I'm Supposed to be a Writer?
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-Sydney