Hello, Veeky Forums, I have some questions regarding the "literary lifestyle". First some background: I am 25 years old, have bachelors in physics and will soon also have bachelors in philosophy. My parents are decently wealth and have been financing me so far. During my studies I found that physics does not interest me at all and even academic philosophy turned out to not to be to my liking. I was too apt at both to fail but never good enough to please my overblown ego. In light of this I have now decided to move to Berlin where I plan on trying my hand at writing for a year.
So my question to you is: If you had no financial worries (for the short-term at least), were fairly young and decided to try to become an author, how would you go about accomplishing that goal?
I would pose the question you are asking, but I would pose it to myself and answer it myself by thinking long and hard about it. Sorry for the cliche
Lincoln Mitchell
Rest assured that I am mulling over this question day and night. It is just that the answers I come up with are horribly unsatisfying when confronted with my fear of failure. In general this fear is nothing new to me, but it in the past school and university always kept me from truly confronting it, by offering external railroads of "success" so to speak. I feel like I could REALLY fail for the first time in my life.
Is anyone else getting kind of tired of these "I feel like this/think this/live like this, give me some advice that's tangentially related to books" threads?
Jace Lee
>why am I so smart? >I'm too smart to be smart enough to appreciate subtlety, so now I want other people to tell me I'm smart Are you inspired? Do you dream of greatness and plod forward in spite of terrible ideas? Can you bare yourself to yourself, then show that to other people?
You sound like a dick, live before writing so you can write about life, not some wankery. I write because I'm inspired by the world around me, just go for a walk and stomp through leaves, or throw a rock in a lake then buy a local hamburger. Going somewhere else to inspire yourself is so cliche and unauthentic you might as well go to California and try to live the American dream.
Jonathan Ross
read and write a lot, disregard sex, focus exclusively on writing, 24/7, even when you're not writing.
You'll soon feel the demon.
Hudson Reyes
>if you had no financial worries
Stupid young kid. Money is always important, even when your parents are ""wealthy"". Thats why you people stay middle class.
Anthony Cox
t. uber-pleb. money is almost never important
Brayden Ramirez
Thanks for that, user. I was aware of the wanting to write/wanting to be a writer distinction but I had never heard the audio recording before. The thing is that I don't want to influence people. I don't even want to be succesful. I just want to feel like I am finally doing something that feels worthwhile to me.
Yes, I am as well. I just didn't know who else to talk to. Friends and family offer nothing but encouragement, which, don't get me wrong, is nice, but doesn't help me in the least.
Oh, I am a dick. I guess in some way I did with this post exactly what you are telling me to do; baring myself to myself and showing it to other people. I am not going to Berlin to inspire myself. I am going to Berlin "live" and to meet people that I can connect with.
Mason Martinez
Thats why I added the "for the short-term at least", user.
Noah Reyes
Your thread seems like an entirely pointless humblebrag. Also Berlin is a shithole that's only good for partying and making guerilla expositions of your hipster neo-post-avant-dada-shitcore "art". Yes. The janitors are faggots though. There's porn on first page for over 40 minutes now. >being this insecure about your mental faculties and educational achievements
Jayden Walker
>I am not going to Berlin to inspire myself. I am going to Berlin "live" and to meet people that I can connect with. You've missed the point entirely. The real writer's lifestyle is torturous. You suffer, give up on your craft, then gnash your way through adversity until you manage to create something. Then you fail, then you do it again and again and again until you still feel like you're failing, but other people are telling you you're okay. After that, you succeed in your mind, but fail in everyone else's, forcing you to endure a brand new type of failure. But why do you do this to yourself? Inspiration; the drive to do what you want for yourself.
Everything about your post spoke to using other people as crutches. I'm sure you can pound out something, but you'll never write until you give up everything just to write.
Isaiah Young
You have a point. But would you mind also giving me your slice of mind on what a person could (should?) do in my situation?
David Long
Maybe for some individuals money isnt important. Maybe they value things like "family" or "hobbies" (what are those things really?). But societies and groups breathe money and will always need individuals good with money.
Benjamin Cooper
There are no other wavelengths where you can put your mind for a while. You have to do what is right, always, from the moment you first realize it till you die.
Gabriel Gray
Your post may be little more than a rather long plattitude, but I must admit that the idea that a feeling of failure need not represent true, ultimate failure, that it may rather be an essential part of a certain path, is very encouraging. Thanks, user.
Camden Bennett
>calls the previous post a rather long platitude >and then recognizes that it is both interesting and thoughtful Anyways, no problem user. Wish you luck.
Sebastian Rogers
Those are the rough outlines of my plan. How do you feel about performing at events such as poetry slams or open readings?
Adrian Bennett
This will probably sound very pretentious, but oftentimes things that sound rather banal when muttered to oneself in solitude can only reveal their depth when taken from anothers tongue. Had I said what you said to myself I would have dismissed it as banal tripe right away, hearing from another person however lets actually take it seriously, if that makes any sense.
Brandon Cooper
>being a writer is living out my cliche-ridden juvenile fantasies
Evan Baker
Good morning bump. Any anons in a similar situation?
