# I want to be an author when I grow up



## sheepysowner (Apr 26, 2020)

14M sheltered kid who was about to go to a mainstream school when I was 11, but due to my inferior Fe [as an INTP] resulting in unpredictable, immature and very disruptive meltdowns I was suddenly and abruptly moved to a shitty, special school without any of my say and now I'm trapped there for the rest of my education. I have to get a really really long taxi ride there and I don't even learn a thing, but the boomers raising me force me to attend as they're xSxJ bootlickers.
Therefore, I have little faith in getting good grades, and my only plan is to move out of the deranged group home I live in as soon as I turn 18 and work a crappy menial job, and that's that. I love horror and using my imagination to write horror stories of my own, and I can make a living out of that and hopefully I will one day manage to write an entire novel and sell it.
Any advice?


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## ImpossibleHunt (May 30, 2020)

I don't know the situation with you or your parents, so I'm not going to comment on that. 
I would just focus on making the most of your situation. No matter what you are stuck there, so you might as well adopt a healthy attitude and make the best of it. 
At the very least, try and make it so you are going to walk out of this tougher, smarter, more disciplined and more skilled than you were before. Don't let complacency sit in, take the initiative yourself. 

Develop skills, and work on gathering ideas for you novels in the meantime.


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## Reginer (Jun 18, 2020)

Well, first let's look at facts. Compared to getting a regular job, it is actually much more difficult to get your book published, let alone get a living income from it if it gets published. Because not everyone would buy the book if it isn't well known even if story is decent enough or good. But should you stop doing it because of that, even if you would want to do it? Nope, rather you can use that time frame to revisit your ideas and develop your plot. It can increase your chances to get it published. Share your ideas with others in not so obvious way, so that it cannot be stolen.

And by the time it is closer to publication of your novel, it would be much easier to write it down, if you have arranged your plot sequentially. But if you have trouble remembering the ideas, be sure to note it down somewhere. That is what I am doing right now, it is what might work for me. And keep a rough tentative but sure(as in you would not end up starting a procrastination cycle) time span for when you would attempt to release that novel. Sometimes melancholic mind can produce interesting plots. So be sure to use it if you are interested in developing a horror story.

Hope it is helpful and understandable(as in it isn't misinterpreted) unlike my other comments.


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## melloi (Jul 14, 2019)

sheepysowner said:


> 14M sheltered kid who was about to go to a mainstream school when I was 11, but due to my inferior Fe [as an INTP] resulting in unpredictable, immature and very disruptive meltdowns I was suddenly and abruptly moved to a shitty, special school without any of my say and now I'm trapped there for the rest of my education. I have to get a really really long taxi ride there and I don't even learn a thing, but the boomers raising me force me to attend as they're xSxJ bootlickers.
> Therefore, I have little faith in getting good grades, and my only plan is to move out of the deranged group home I live in as soon as I turn 18 and work a crappy menial job, and that's that. I love horror and using my imagination to write horror stories of my own, and I can make a living out of that and hopefully I will one day manage to write an entire novel and sell it.
> Any advice?


Grades don't mean jack. Right now I have a pretty cool job, paid well above minimal wage, and I almost got thrown out of highschool for poor performance.
If you want to pursue your dreams in the future (and that dream is writing), I'd suggest doing 2 things immediately right now, start now:

1. Learn to code. I know this is almost a meme nowadays, but I can assure you that a vast majority of jobs in the service sector will either be replaced by automations or will require people who understand coding at least to some degree, even if it's just writing custom macros for Excel sheets (and this is in quite high demand already today). By the time you're looking out for a job, you will need to either create automations, or service/maintain automations in very many sectors that rely on office work. This can serve as a stable form of income, easy employability in many companies. No need to aim for a full-time developer job, spending 24/7 on coding. Just have enough understanding to intervene in coding-related or software/automation-engineering projects, as an analyst, as a product owner, as a team leader, as a junior developer or assistant/associate, or even as a database administrator. This sector is very lucrative, and rising in demand and relevance like fire. Right now I'm looking to buy a new flat and need to get credit from a bank, and IT/coding jobs ensure the bank gives the best loan deals as opposed to any other job sector.

2. Start writing right now. Don't wait, because writing is fucking hard. Far harder than programming, for as far as my own personal interests in writing are concerned. You will need many years to reach any degree of "readability" and appreciation from your readers. There's a lot of reading involved to learn to copy other successful authors, a lot of theoretical reading as well, to understand the inner-workings of story-making and how to influence reader's minds. Then a lot of experimentation, planning writing projects, it's all very time consuming, better go balls-deep as soon as you can.

P.S. fun fact - my work and experience in automation development (and participation in development teams in general) helped me develop quite a number of helpful skills and mental reflexes with regard to how I approach envisioning and planning my writing projects, how I approach structuring story scenes, and connecting the plot / filling plot gaps. The structural mentality I gained from my job in automation development somehow brought a lot of structure and consistency to my writing hobby, which previously felt like a mess.


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## Penny (Mar 24, 2016)

sheepysowner said:


> 14M sheltered kid who was about to go to a mainstream school when I was 11, but due to my inferior Fe [as an INTP] resulting in unpredictable, immature and very disruptive meltdowns I was suddenly and abruptly moved to a shitty, special school without any of my say and now I'm trapped there for the rest of my education. I have to get a really really long taxi ride there and I don't even learn a thing, but the boomers raising me force me to attend as they're xSxJ bootlickers.
> Therefore, I have little faith in getting good grades, and my only plan is to move out of the deranged group home I live in as soon as I turn 18 and work a crappy menial job, and that's that. I love horror and using my imagination to write horror stories of my own, and I can make a living out of that and hopefully I will one day manage to write an entire novel and sell it.
> Any advice?


Why not think about college or trade school? Writer's don't need college to write but you migth want a decent paying job and it will be hard to find one without some sort of degree or certification.


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## GusWriter (Jun 13, 2012)

sheepysowner said:


> 14M sheltered kid who was about to go to a mainstream school when I was 11, but due to my inferior Fe [as an INTP] resulting in unpredictable, immature and very disruptive meltdowns I was suddenly and abruptly moved to a shitty, special school without any of my say and now I'm trapped there for the rest of my education. I have to get a really really long taxi ride there and I don't even learn a thing, but the boomers raising me force me to attend as they're xSxJ bootlickers.
> Therefore, I have little faith in getting good grades, and my only plan is to move out of the deranged group home I live in as soon as I turn 18 and work a crappy menial job, and that's that. I love horror and using my imagination to write horror stories of my own, and I can make a living out of that and hopefully I will one day manage to write an entire novel and sell it.
> Any advice?


Well my best wishes to you in a writing career. Hopefully, you are one of the few instant big successes on an early go at it. As someone who recently entered the field of paid published authors, if you don't "knock it out of the park" the first try, that's fine. But, it is not all about writing nowadays. You are expected to do a lot of your own marketing. My publisher has their contacts and got my book out there, and some reviews, but I'm expected to do my part and try to pull people in through facebook and my website posts, connecting with potential readers and the like(I'm getting there, but facebook is just not my thing). 
Read a lot. Nothing develops your vocabulary, use of characters, literary imagination, etc. like reading. You don't want to try to copy anybody, but their influences will show. If you are told or feel you are weak in any area of writing, work on developing it. I reread some of my stuff early on and thought I was weak on developing character emotions(I test about even on INTP/INFP). I researched and found a good book of writing exercises to help develop that more. 

Once you get to the point of publishing, you gotta stay humble and think of working with your developmental editor as them helping get your book ready for sale, not them "messing with your story". Not that all editors are created equal, but there's a reason they have their job usually.

Yes, you can work a menial job while you try to get the writing going, and there's nothing wrong with that. But as far as school and what ever work you do, realize going in half-ass will become a habit, and it will carry over into your passions if you let it. I know INTP tendencies and there is a lot of inner world stuff, good for the imagination, but realize that can work against you if you start to use it an excuse.

Again wish you well as you move forward.


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## cosmoetic (Mar 24, 2020)

Take your education seriously. It’s not a reflection of the situation around you, it’s an investment towards yourself. I know thats easier said than done... I've been there. I know how easy it is to get discouraged when your daily routine isn’t what you’d like it to be, but there’s still plenty of time to change the trajectory of your next few years. If you work hard and do well, you might be able to have a significantly different and more independent life in just a few years, and get to study writing in further detail


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## maxmayer (Oct 25, 2018)

It means you should start writing right now. For example I recommend you to visit essaysupply.com and read about writing a reaction paper or other kind of papers. It's important to start writing correctly without making mistakes. Because it's a common problem for beginners - they start writing without experience and may acomplish a bad essay/paper. So try to avoid it in futher.


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## eva26 (Oct 28, 2020)

It may be very difficult to become popular in writing, but I always dreamed that I would become a famous writer. I do everything for this. Now I combine work in the office and study writing now I study the question of how to use etc https://assignmentshark.com/ . It's hard to combine but I'm still trying to be a good writer. I hope that people will read my essays


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## Kitagawa Megumi (Jan 13, 2010)

sheepysowner said:


> 14M sheltered kid who was about to go to a mainstream school when I was 11, but due to my inferior Fe [as an INTP] resulting in unpredictable, immature and very disruptive meltdowns I was suddenly and abruptly moved to a shitty, special school without any of my say and now I'm trapped there for the rest of my education. I have to get a really really long taxi ride there and I don't even learn a thing, but the boomers raising me force me to attend as they're xSxJ bootlickers.
> Therefore, I have little faith in getting good grades, and my only plan is to move out of the deranged group home I live in as soon as I turn 18 and work a crappy menial job, and that's that. I love horror and using my imagination to write horror stories of my own, and I can make a living out of that and hopefully I will one day manage to write an entire novel and sell it.
> Any advice?



Don't wait, start writing now.

Focus on school, although don't sweat it either if your grades aren't perfect. In the real-world out here, grades can only take you so far. In the context of a career, what folks really value is your portfolio/projects. Also, don't forget about interpersonal skills including marketing your work; unless you hate that, then you need resources to outsource that task.

Have a back-up plan in case you don't become an instant success in your writing career. Something tolerable but will pay your bills. Research on this, maybe do the holland code test to figure out what kind of jobs may suit you, etc. Good luck!


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## Celtsincloset (Feb 17, 2014)

My advice in order to be a good writer: is to be healthy and look after yourself, in all aspects of your life. Then either: get into a job that allows you to work on your writing on the side, or get into any job and save up money so that you can spend time off focussing on your writing in the future. That can be fun. You should commit to working on it until you’re good enough, and part of that development is education about writing, about psychology, about life in general; having the desire to learn and/or having an education is important.

If it’s your dream then it would come true if you are willing to work hard, but it’s even better to look after yourself while you do work on it.


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## Tatti (Mar 9, 2020)

Your story is really not simple. In your place, you need to constantly develop your imagination and read books. Read Stephen King. And you can watch all parts of Saw. The main thing is not to stop and success will surely come


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