Subcreator
Minstrel
This may seem like too personal a post, and I'm sure some of you may not care about this, but I have to say it. I know that most of the people here, and most of the people who are writers, they make a living through regular jobs. Well, for me, I can't really do that. I collect disability and food stamps, since I'm unable to work. Panic attacks and severe Tourette's Syndrome, on top of autism spectrum disorder (fortunately someone high functioning) have kept me from being able to hold down a job. They don't, however, prevent me from writing.
Unfortunately, my family was none too supportive about my writing, especially fantasy writing. You see, I was raised in a conservative Christian family, and my grandmother (who was otherwise verbally and emotionally abusive) tried convincing me to right something more "normal." She even recommended I get interested in Westerns. Not only that, but she insisted that "nobody" makes a living at writing, and that the only reason I could do it full-time is if I get as famous as Stephen King or Tom Clancy.
That said, my family insisted that I needed to get a real job and leave writing as a hobby. Of course, since I didn't have a job, they believed that I shouldn't devote any time to a hobby, meaning that I shouldn't write. When it came out that I would likely never work and needed to go on disability, they still didn't think I should devote time to writing. Essentially, it wasn't important.
That was about six years ago, but I'm still bothered by this. My wife (who is working part-time as a restaurant server) insists that I should just focus on my writing and accept that, for the moment, I need to collect government aid based on my disabilities. However, it's still hard breaking free from the mental tapes that keep replaying in my mind, especially when we're not even able to pay minimum on our debts. (I've got some serious guilt over that, too.)
I realize I'm just rambling and ranting, but I'm nearly 30 years old, have never held down a job for more than five months, and here I am, trying to figure out how to make a living on writing, which everyone tells me is, at best, a risky venture, yet I can't stop doing it.
Well, that's my rant for the day. I hope y'all don't mind it.
Unfortunately, my family was none too supportive about my writing, especially fantasy writing. You see, I was raised in a conservative Christian family, and my grandmother (who was otherwise verbally and emotionally abusive) tried convincing me to right something more "normal." She even recommended I get interested in Westerns. Not only that, but she insisted that "nobody" makes a living at writing, and that the only reason I could do it full-time is if I get as famous as Stephen King or Tom Clancy.
That said, my family insisted that I needed to get a real job and leave writing as a hobby. Of course, since I didn't have a job, they believed that I shouldn't devote any time to a hobby, meaning that I shouldn't write. When it came out that I would likely never work and needed to go on disability, they still didn't think I should devote time to writing. Essentially, it wasn't important.
That was about six years ago, but I'm still bothered by this. My wife (who is working part-time as a restaurant server) insists that I should just focus on my writing and accept that, for the moment, I need to collect government aid based on my disabilities. However, it's still hard breaking free from the mental tapes that keep replaying in my mind, especially when we're not even able to pay minimum on our debts. (I've got some serious guilt over that, too.)
I realize I'm just rambling and ranting, but I'm nearly 30 years old, have never held down a job for more than five months, and here I am, trying to figure out how to make a living on writing, which everyone tells me is, at best, a risky venture, yet I can't stop doing it.
Well, that's my rant for the day. I hope y'all don't mind it.