Young Writers Society

Hey, I'm new here *waves*, and I just wanted to say before I go on fwhat an amazing site this is. So thanks for having me! Everyones been really welcoming.


I've been writing since last August, and since then, I've become really serious about my novel, and my calling. At the start, It was just an instinct that developed, to write....but now...I can't imagine myself doing anything else. I know I have a long way to go, but I reckon, if I'm very, very hard working and lucky, my novel might just be good enough.

The only problem is, I'm in a grammer school and my parents want me to get a 'respectable career' in law, or teaching, or something like that.

But I want to be a writer!

I'm very secretive about my novel and I havent told a soul I know about it.

Does anyone else feel like this?

Thanks for reading my rant,

Eimear

Ok, you go to a grammar school but your folks want you to go into law?

Anyway, I'm Kyte. Or Jorin. Nice to meet you Eimear!

Your writing doesn't have to be a secret. Just because you're, say, a teacher doesn't mean you can't write as well. Granted, it might be a touch more difficult, but at least you won't have to write in secret.

You know, my parents told me the same thing. My dad would rather I become a lawyer or a doctor, but I just kinda glared at him. xD

I'd recommend following your dreams, but ALWAYS have a good backup. There isn't much money to be made in writing unless you're like, JK Rowling successful, so it's good to have another career in mind. I'm currently bouncing between teacher or psychologist in addition to writing. Many, many writers have day jobs that are "respectable." (As if writing isn't respectable... but that's another rant)

Also, it's okay to be a bit secretive about your novel -- I've only recently started involving my parents in my writing, and I've been doing it for four years! YWS helps with that, trust me.

Just be patient and be realistic. That's all I have to say. ^^

By the way, welcome to YWS! I haven't seen you around before.

-Saint Razorblade
The Official YWS Pirate

I think I understand where you're coming from, though our situations aren't the same.

I'm a pretty smart kid, and for the longest time I've felt like I was under this pressure to be the best and do the best. Which resulted in me developping a strong dislike for school and horrible work ethic. >.<

But at some point I figured out that the thing about jobs...is they're a lot like hobbies. If you don't enjoy the job you go to do every day, you will end up hating it and probably be miserable while you're at it. Which is why, if you like writing, you should go for it. I can't remember where I heard this (the radio I think), but it went something like: 'Follow your heart and the money will come later'. Which I think is a pretty good thing to keep in mind.

Personally, I love writing--and it's no secret. I am going to be a writer. But at the same time, it's important to keep in mind that when writer's start off they can make as little as 0-1000$ a year, on average. That's hardly enough to get by on. So having a second job, one that you enjoy (though maybe not as much as writing), is a good plan.

Don't forget; doctors, laywers, dentists...all of these people write books! All the time. Even the very busy and well known ones who you'd think were up to their eyeballs in work have time to sit down and write books. So just because you have big job, doesn't mean you can't be a writer as well.

The cool thing about being young, is you have time now. I think it's great you're writing a novel, and this is probably the best time to throw yourself into it. Though since you're parents sound like they put a bit of pressure on you, don't let your school work fall abandoned in a corner. Right now (sadly) that is the more important thing.

Oh! And another thing. Are you sure you're parents want you to have a 'respectable' career, exactly. I mean, yes, all parents would love it. But I figured out (the long way) that really my parents just want to see me suceed in life. So maybe don't feel too pressured to go into those sectors, in the end it is your life and they should respect your choices. Though don't go all 'it's my life and I can do whatever I want!'. Something more like 'I was thinking I would do this *insert a concrete plan backed up with reasarch here*'. =P And let's not forget that even if the first thing we think of is doctor, lawyer, dentist...there are tons of other jobs that are very respectable. Teachers, university professers, principal, social worker...so long as you aren't working a fast food place or something like they, you should be okay.

^_^ Keek!

(o.O I talked a lot =P)

With my parents, they don't know I write, because I don't feel I have achieved enough to show people yet. My mum wants me to be a lawyerr but I don't want to work for someone else. I want to be an entrepreneur too!

Hi! I've seen you about, but welcome!

The fact that I write is certainly no secret around these parts. I've been doing it since 5th grade publicly, so I think I've really honed in on what I want to do with it. Like everyone said, you can't very well be a writer and nothing else. The fact is, anyone in any job can write a book if they so choose, and there are VERY few people who are JUST a writer and nothing else successfully (I believe JK Rowling was mentioned...) I'm hoping to be an editor since I like it so much. It's in the writing field as well. A lot of other people said teacher or psychologist, and those are some of my back-up plans as well (particularly teacher). Anyway, if you want, you could be a lawyer AND a writer, or whatever it is that you want to be. And there's no reason to keep your writing a secret. Show something you've written to someone you know. You might find it to be pretty helpful in fact (can you say revise and edit??)

Good luck!

Hello! Woot woot for us Irish girls!

As to being a lawyer or a doctor, I want to be a doctor when I'm older in any case... my parents do know I write and they're always telling me they want a retirement home in the south of Franc once I've made a fortune with my book, but it's only natural for parents to want their children to have a good reliable job. I wouldn't worry about it.

And tell people! I used to be really secretive, but now I write my friends stories for their birthdays and do my diary in public. It's so much easier that way. Just use it in casual conversation it doesn't have to be a big deal!

Calling? I thought I was just doing this for fun? XD

To the original poster, and others too -

Half of the problem when dealing with parents and what their goals for their children is, there's hardly any communication taken place. Rather than stepping forward, they become secretive, which has already been admitted here.

For me, everyone in my family knows I write. It's no big thing, and they all know to stear clear of me when I am, lol! As writers, we all suck. Let's all just come to terms with that here and now. So, it makes no difference if we've achieved this higher standard in the Literary world because like any artist, to perfect our craft, we must work hard at it. For this, our styles will forever change constantly, which is why we suck. XD As an artist, we will never be pleased but mildly satisfied eventually.

My advice to all of you, if you haven't done it yet, speak to your parents. Show them your work. Tell them your goals in the Lit world, and how much it means to you as a person. And well, if that doesn't pan out, I have plenty of bayonets to ship out for borrowing. Good luck.

"Doing what you love is freedom;
Loving what you do is happiness."
Totally.

I think you need to have a backup. My sister wants to be a writer and she's written three books already. She's in college right now, and what she wants to do is study things, and find a job, that will help her write, give her ideas, and a more steady income than writing always can.

I'm too self-conscious about my writing to show it to anyone in my family, or even let them know that I'm doing it. For me, writing is too personal, too... your writing is a part of you, it's like a piece of your mind on paper. Do you get what I mean?
Of course, for me that's not a problem. I love writing, and it would be the most awesome thing in the world if I could write something that I knew people read, and loved, something that... they stayed up late to read, where the characters were as close to them as real people. But I know that I couldn't write for a living.

I don't know what I want to do for a living. My mom is convinced that I should be a lawyer (what is it with our parents and lawyers:)), and she's convinced my sisters to be convinced about it to. But I know that I wouldn't like it. The things that are closest to me are the things that I can't do for a living, music and writing... although, from the writing aspect, I almost like reviewing others people's things for them as much as I like writing my own stuff. I read and critqued every one of the books my sister wrote. I want something unique, something where I don't have to depend on people, I'd love to do something with books, and I want something where I can travel. But whatever, I have time... I think.

Don't worry Eimear. If you want to write, you'll find a way. Writers always do. That's part of why they're writers. Find something else that you love (if not so much as writing), something that will give you good experiences, and that will help your writing too. Of course, some people do make good money off of writing, and who knows, it could be you. Just don't rule out everything else. The best part of being where we're at right now is that we have the rest of our lives to do anything. And we can do anything.

My mum yells at me when I am on my computer. She doesn't know that I write, because it would be on News at Ten if she did. lol. I wish I had that freedom, when they let you get one with it. I can see that being a problem in NaNoWriMo...

I completely understand.
My parents understand that I want to write novels, but encourage me to find a back up career so that I don't go hungry. Unfortunately I really don't want to do anything other than write, nor do I know what else I could do. So far I'm just planning on majoring or minoring in English and Social Studies at a nearby college. Then hopefully I can scrape by on whatever job I achieve until I can manage living with the income of my novels alone. I just hope I can get published.
I only show my work to a few of my friends. Otherwise I won't show it to anyone, especially online. I would love too, but Im much to paranoid of theivery.

*grumbles*

As I said previously, tell your parents your desire to write, and for the love of sanity, quit being so secretive! You all are not secret agents. Tell them now, or your problems will presist.

To be honest, I have so many ambitions. That's just me, never happy. Which is good, right? I want to be a entrepreneur and a VERY famous and successful novelist. As soon as parents eveing goes by, I'll tell my mum. Otherwise, my she will just blurt it out ot my English teacher, who will think I think I am a brilliant writer... which I'm not. lol.

There is something very Dead Poets Society about your circumstances. Please don't resolve your problem the way the main character in that movie did.

Personally, I don't think there is any need to tell your parents. If I can avoid it, my mother won't ever read a single thing I write. If I ever get published (long shot) I'll use a pen name and pretend I still go to work every day. This lie will be much easier to tell if I don't live in the same state as her. I love her to death, but the writer in me just is not a side I think she needs to know about.

But I don't have any expectations on me like you do. There's no reason to not go along with a respectable occupation. In fact, it might make for more interesting writing in the long run.

Honesty is a hard thing to use appropriately.