Listening to your own voice

It has been a while since my last post. I was traveling home and then the flu caught me. I am still on the mend, but there has been something on my mind that I would like to get out. It’s about writing for a career.

I’m sure all writers can relate to this feeling. Growing up we are asked what we want to do for a living. How come kids are allowed to be whatever they want to be when they grow up, but once we become adults the rules change? Have you ever notice how people are more accepting to kids dreams than adults. For example when I tell people I am writing a novel most of them respond with that’s great, so what do you do for a living. Some laugh. Very few are accepting and believe it can happen, including family and friends.

It’s no wonder people have problems going for their dreams when their support system fails them. It’s hard enough believing in yourself sometimes without the added pressure of no one else believing in you.

When I was home this past week. I told some of my friends about knowing I want to be a writer. There is only one I can think of that accepted the idea immediately. I actually got to the point where I was holding my breath before telling people what I want to do with my life because I knew the scrutinizing and judging would begin. It was a relief to have one friend look at me like I’m not crazy.

To be fair, my family supports me. I am just not sure if they believe writing is a career. My sister is a social worker, so she has a real job, while I’m a waitress and spend my free time working on my novel.

So this post is for all of you writers that have been through this feeling of people judging you for not having a real career. Writing is hard and it is work. You have to force yourself to do it some days and only other writers can understand this. Only a writer knows how it feels to work so hard on something and have someone else reject it or rip it apart.

We are strong and it is the writers who believe in themselves and can drown out all the noise around them that can make it. I believe I can make it and that’s all that matters. I would love to hear your trials of writing.