Advice

On pursuing your dream.

I’m an 18 year old, first semester english major THE premier community college of NYC, and working my ass off to go to a big kid school, while working my ass off to feed my working ass. You’re interesting and funny, something I find really awesome and your opinion is one that has grown to be important to me. I hope to be a ‘successful novelist,’ but lets face it, there’s plenty of starving artists out there, just like me who think they’re creative and unique. However, I’m not exactly pigheaded enough to not realize I ain’t the best and there really is no best in writing. My question, dear coke talk, is should I pursue ‘my dream,’ or should i push it to the side for now and concentrate on something lucrative. I’m not a dumby, so I can accomplish myself in other fields, I’m just not passionate about them. Also, if you could check this out (it’d be huge cause you seem to have a lot on yo plate)

http://give-us-money.blogspot.com/2009/09/by-katie-waldron-barrage-of-microphones.html

it’s a less then 500 word short story I wrote, one of my best. Maybe it could be a reference point. In the end, I know it’s up to me but every opinion of an intellectual counts towards my final choice.

and if this is totally irrelevant to your interests and line of business being that you’re anon, sorry for wasting inbox space

 

Don’t ever ask someone whether you should pursue your dream. That’s like asking permission to breathe. Never give someone that kind of power over you.

As for your question, I don’t care what career you choose, but if you insist on calling yourself a writer then you need to work on your fundamentals. I’m talking about basic grammar, sentence structure, and consistency of tone. You may also want to get in the habit of running spell check.

No one will ever let you get away with breaking the rules if you can’t demonstrate that you first know them. It’s the only way to be taken seriously.

And by the way, I’m not talking about your short story here. I’m talking about your email. That’s my first impression of your skills, and it’s all I need to determine whether you really consider yourself a writer.

Sitting down in front of a keyboard is a sacred thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a novel, an email, or a fucking TPS report. A writer is accountable for every word she writes, and a writer brings her A-game every time.

I appreciate that you’re passionate about this, but passion and dedication aren’t the same thing.

Good luck with whatever you choose to be.

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2 thoughts on “On pursuing your dream.

  1. Chris says:

    She kept posting on that account for a few years, and after a Google search she might be the same Katie Walden who has credits on IMDB.

    This stuff doesn’t happen overnight.

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