If you're into reading articles about writing, which I am, then you've probably noticed that pretty much all of them are written by adults who have actually made money and are sane and have gone on tour or something.
...Yeah, that's not me. Even though I kind of wish that it was.
So, I'm here today to tell you what it's like being a teen who writes pretty much every day, and has big dreams, but actually hasn't published anything. There's actually a lot of stuff that I think that happens in a life like that that doesn't go on in other's.
You may ask: Like what, Lizzy? Thanks, I'm glad you asked.
Okay, well, for one thing, to me you are not real people. You are all a part of various story lines, and are characters in said stories. That couple making out in the hallway? Yeah, so I don't dislike them as much, I pretend that they're a part of some trashy romance novel like Divergent, where they have just made up from a huge fight because one of them was being stupid and the other was being over sensitive. Apparently they get in a fight every day. And if you are one of the lucky few that I have a crush on, (I only like one person at a time, but this is just in theory), then you and I are in a non-trashy romance, where we will end up married and living in a humble little home with, like, two children.
I also have this theory that some of the people in high school are actually agents for a shady governmental group, and are secretly European. If you happen to be one of those people, please tell me. I LOVE the accents.
But in all seriousness, I can't help but look at a person and wonder what part of their story they're at in. Are they in a backstory right now? The beginning? The climax? Or are you already on the second book in a series? I don't know, but I have to try.
This leads me to my second point, which is that everything is a metaphor. Does this need much explaining? Like I said, we're not real people. We are all a representation of dreams and the illusion of self importance. Glass is a metaphor of how fragile life is, etc...
My next point, I'm not sure whether or not if it's good. I'm pretty sure that this is common, but when I zone out, I'm not actually zoning out. I am thinking of what I'm going to write next. I'm currently working on a chick-lit, and figuring out the plot for a superhero book that I shall also soon be writing. School is boring enough that it becomes background music for my thoughts about whether or not I want to break the arm of my character. Who needs to know about mitochondria, anyways?
But if you want to become a highly distracted person, then I would recommend writing a novel. It works. Maybe a little too well.
Okay, and one last thing, and I could seriously rant about this all day, I am constantly thinking and being told that this does not make a good living.
Look, I am constantly living in a state of doubt about this particular subject. Can I stress enough that I KNOW THIS ISN'T A CAREER WHERE YOU MAKE MUCH MONEY? Goodness, I know, and I think that anyone who has even considered becoming an author knows this. They probably even know that getting published is pretty darn hard. But we do not write so that we can become rich, we write because, shocker,we like it. If you have a choice between sitting at a computer for hours at a time and not making much money or going to a mental asylum, I will gladly choose the computer, thank you very much. I NEED to write. I'll work another job, if I need to, but I'm not going to just give up on something that I love so much. It's like telling your friend who is addicted to drugs that the drugs aren't good for them. Do you think they'll listen? (Okay, maybe not your friend, but you get the point).
And that's another thing, yes, I need to write every day. If I don't write for an extended period of time, especially during the middle of the writing of a book, then bad things happen. I forget writing strategies, I forget my character's tone, and it just doesn't look good. As a person who is completely serious about becoming published in later years, it's important to have constant practice. Writing is just like any other skill, you can always improve, but you have to practice.
So, in conclusion, please, please, PLEASE refrain from telling me that this is hardly something that brings in money. I know. I tell myself this every day and wonder if I'm just wasting my time doing this. But I really, really do not care.
And remember: to me, you're not real.
How does it feel?
No comments:
Post a Comment