I WAS CONVINCED THAT THE ONLY THING
I WANTED TO DO, EVER, WAS WRITE NOVELS.
HOWEVER, MY PARENTS, BOTH OF WHOM
CAME FROM IMPOVERISHED BACKGROUNDS
AND NEITHER OF WHOM HAD BEEN TO COLLEGE,
TOOK THE VIEW THAT MY
OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION WAS AN
AMUSING PERSONAL QUIRK THAT WOULD NEVER
PAY A MORTGAGE OR SECURE A PENSION.
I KNOW THAT THE IRONY STRIKES WITH
THE FORCE OF A CARTOON ANVIL NOW.
(J. K. Rowling)
It just goes to show that we never really know what life has in store for us.
Or what we have in store for life.
Doesn't matter where we came from, it's where we're going that matters.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, Alex.
DeleteSo true. I thought I would make a living in the field of art. The closest I got was painting houses back in the day.
ReplyDeleteWell, that is all about color and texture and making something look fresh and bright.... :)
DeleteI definitely think a person needs a backup plan. It takes years to get this business going enough to support ones self (if ever) but my mom (like Jo's) overly discouraged... I wish I'd been encouraged to keep it up as a hobby, at the very least.
ReplyDeleteWriting was encouraged when I was younger, but the older I got, the less so. We need to be strong in our sense of self and in what's important to us, for us.
DeleteOf course, JK is the exception to the rule. Not only is she talented, but she was tenacious, and lucky. We need all three.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely need all three - and even that's not a guarantee. Sigh.
DeleteIt's great that JK followed her dreams and achieved so much success.
ReplyDeleteAnd aren't we all glad that she did! We wouldn't have Harry Potter and friends otherwise. :)
DeleteI'm glad she kept writing and didn't give up. =)
ReplyDeleteMe, too!
DeleteI love success stories like J.K.'s. They keep me going.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I find them depressing, but mostly they fire me up, keep me going and inspired. :)
DeleteMy mom still believes that being a writer is not a real profession. Every day she asks me why I don't get an actual job, instead of playing around on my computer. But that doesn't mean people like you and me should give up on our dreams. I definitely hope you don't give up. I think Alex said it perfectly above.
ReplyDeleteYikes. Most people I know rarely remember any writing projects I've mentioned in the past and/or don't ask me anything in the course of a conversation. It's treated as either a hobby or just non-existent, not the huge part of my life and who I am that it is. But I'm not giving up, and I hope you don't either. :)
DeleteWhen I was a pre-teen, I came up with what basically amounted to 'character sketches' so I could write a story with a larger cast of characters, though I'd never taken a formal writing course and didn't know what a character sketch was. When I excitedly told my father of my plans, he fussed at me about how taking on such a project would interfere with my schoolwork and bring down my grades. Shortly after that, I set my writing aside and didn't write again for 20 years.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered where I would be in my career as an author if he had encouraged me instead of scolding me.
It's so hard to say, isn't it? I struggle with those kinds of what ifs/regrets sometimes, too. I'm doing what I can to accept myself and where I am in life, in career, etc right now and go from there.
DeleteI know fulfilling dreams, small and large, gives us a reason to get up in the morning and that's enough for me. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from Elements of Writing
Yes! :)
DeleteMy son wants to be a screenwriter and I still push him to get a degree, so he can have a steady income. I hope he makes fun of me one day!
ReplyDeleteBut I bet you also encourage the writing, right? :) There's a huge difference between encouraging the writing AND a degree and discouraging the writing.
DeleteWhat a great quote, Madeline! I hadn't seen that one before. We (and all the children of the world) are so fortunate that J.K. kept her dream alive!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Can you imagine it - a world with no Harry Potter?! :o
DeleteBoom.
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteI don't think what your parents do or how they were educated predicts what an imaginative and clever mind can do!
ReplyDeleteSo true!
Delete