Should I quit my 9-to-5 and dedicate my life to writing? I'm scared to pursue my dreams

I got laid off four months ago and have had to move in with my parents because I would no longer be able to pay for the house I was going to rent with my friend and I have briefly thought about the fantasy of moving to Cuba and being a bartender and writing on my free time, but maybe I'll get a job, /lit, who knows?

if you can't get a job in america what makes you think you could get a job in cuba?

>implying I need a resume to be a fucking bartender in shithole country

If he's white and not a 2/10 freakshow then he'd get hired in Cuba easy.

are you fluent in spanish at least? do you know anything about bartending? do you not realize america is full of bars?

u seem a bit retarded

I'm joking, user. I'll be seeing Mr. Shekelstein again in a month, I'm sure.

was this in a movie or tv show or something? why do two people claim to be experts in cuban bars suddenly, looks like a meme to me

So why don't you have a job as a bartender in America?

You seem weirdly confrontational over such a banal statement. He said nothing worth freaking out over this much.

Because he can't handle a level playing field. He needs to go to where the third world darkies are so he can be taken at all seriously.

oh you mean like beta nerds who try to pray on asian girls

Yeah basically.

It's a bad idea. Keep your 9-5 and come up with a better plan to achieve your goals. How much do you write now?

That's actually my real fantasy: go to Japan and live in a high-rise in Tokyo, do shoots for Handjob Japan or any other porn site and when I'm not doing that, sit on my balcony and write the great expat novel.

sounds pretty gay, the 80s are over, no one cares about japan

get a job

You will die.

>pray

if you are happy with very little and don't have familial obligations, all you have to do is save up to give yourself some time.

If you actually work 9-5, you have time to write.

you are delusional if you think writing is financially lucrative as a sustainable monthly income unless you're writing for a magazine or some other wonky shit

personally i'd rather work a graveyard shift as a security guard in a place where no one gives a fuck about robbing or take an outdoor job where i am required to patrol a border guard

i'm going to impart wisdom upon you, administrative work and other computer work crushes people spiritually and fucks with their mental, you will not want to write and will most likely end up an alcoholic if you take an admin job

LOL @ these fucking excuses

If you REALLY wanted to write, you would fit it in somewhere

9-5

So

WTF are you doing starting from 6-8? No time to write?

What about after 5?

What's that? Too tired?

Go to bed early and wake up early

You have whole weekends to spend literally every waking minute writing

You have no fucking excuse you entitled baby

This, I also have a full time job and I still have plenty of time to write.

snagajob.com/job-search/w-cuba, oh/q-bartender#
looks like there's plenty of bartending jobs in cuba, you could probably get hired no problem.

>snagajob.com

damn there are like no jobs listed on there for my city, like 8 jobs and they're all shit

do it m8

>unless you're writing for a magazine or some other wonky shit
no, journalism doesn't pay anything either

I am working a weird schedule of 10-12 pretty stressful hours a day, and yet every day I at least :

- write 1000 new words of a work in progress
- revise something I wrote for 30 minutes

When I can I do more, but I always at least do this. I also read for at least one hour and work out for 45 min daily (although for this I often end up missing about a day a month). Sure, I have no life, but if you have a 9 to 5 job it is really no excuse not to write. It just depends on where you put your priorities.

Bump

I will, friend.

>Should I quit my 9-to-5 and dedicate my life to writing? I'm scared to pursue my dreams

If you have to ask, then no.

People who are driven enough to succeed at this kind of thing have absolutely no question in their mind.

There are plenty of people who write in their spare time that still manage to become successful.

There are people in the world who could never imagine themselves doing anything else, and it's all they ever know how to do. If you're asking, that's not you.

I did that two years ago and while it was fun, maybe even necessary, it didn't pay off in any material sense. I was going to quit that job anyway though because I honestly felt like it was killing me.

Hey I've got some friends that live in Maine, and unless you're ready to be hardened as fuck against cold winds and cold water you aren't gonna cut it as a lobsterman. You'd cut it even less as a "starving artist", because we have this thing called winter. Also I don't think you'll find it "infinitely more fulfilling" when you're starving waiting in line at the soup kitchen while it snows 2 ft. This is just secondhand though, I live in the south.

youtube.com/watch?v=za8SMmW2tcA

watch this entire video

Sounds like someone I know.

You're scared because you sort of know, deep down, that it's a completely retarded thing to do as you've never shown any sort of talent at it.

Not OP, but isn't this obvious for everyone? Who the fuck would quit their job if they weren't already a versed author?

youtube.com/watch?v=za8SMmW2tcA

there are some good points in this

>, if you're not a prole you shouldn't be writing
Why?

cuba is a commie corrupt shithole, don't go there

It was something you could get away with to some extent in the 50s-70s. Now it's a patently retarded idea.

>implying I was serious about lobster fishing

I'll probably move to Portland or Augusta and get some dumb desk job there, one that's more laid back than what I'm currently working in D.C. I just want to a live a laidback life that will allow for time to write. Living in D.C. has too many distractions, and the hedonism here is distracting af.

I'm prepared to embrace winters there. It can't be that bad, especially considering I'll be living in a city. Besides, spending all winter indoors reading and writing sounds comfy af, desu.

Do yourself a favor and don't move to Portland. From what I hear, its the northeast's "hipster mecca". I've also heard second-hand tales about Somalis being annoying and panhandling or peddling drugs and shit, but they won't actually fuck with you in Maine.

What do you do in DC? Why dont you write about Hedonism?

>complains about hedonism
>plans to move to a heroin infested shithole

u seem dumb

>Do yourself a favor and don't move to Portland.

I've been thinking about that. I'm going to Maine this summer and touring the state, in hopes of finding a city or town to move to.

>What do you do in DC?

I'm a data analyst cuck. I don't hate my job, but, aside from writing, I feel like I could be spending my time working something more enjoyable.

>Why dont you write about Hedonism?

Because it's not interesting.

>I waste my life working so that I can spend my money on superficial pleasures in order to convince myself that I'm happy

>reee

The art of living a full life is largely accomplished from not listening to the opinions of jaded assholes who might even be in the same position of mental situation as you. Afraid to fly.

The life of the ironic indecision in the face of countless options is rampant in this generation, and I am not sure why it's like this. I think self-confidence is at an all time low for young people, they are afraid that they don't have what it takes or they are afraid of going through struggle. You will go through struggle, life is struggle.

Perhaps they are right though, maybe they DON'T currently have what it takes. But that does not create the sudden dichotomy of "He was born to do this" vs "He wants to do this but never will because he doesn't have "it".

The only way to forge your own path is to start forging. And as far as I am concerned the percentage of people you see that are successful who got a easier ride because of genetics is way lower than most people think. All successful people, in all areas of success, go to that position because of hard work.

The question then lies to this: "Am I capable of hard work?" Yes you are. If you are a lazy shit, that doesn't mean you will always stay a lazy shit. I think most people break out of this hump of indecisiveness and indecision and procrastination by venturing beyond their comfort zone, to the point where something hits them in the head and they start functioning differently. Once you start working at something consistently those patterns will be set in your brain and you won't have to worry about what the fuck you are going to do that day.

you're an imbecile with graphomania

it's true, if you really pay attention to the people who do the shit you dream about doing, the fact is they worked hard as fuck. i think this sports worship in early life that franchise owners push on kids is harmful because sports is one of the few areas where it's like 90% genetics. But for every other endeavor it comes down to hard work...and then you get ppl who say shit like "what about connections, it's all about connections" yeah it is, and making connections is part of "hard work" which is why you don't want to do it

fuck it, why not? go for it, it's your life. fuck what anyone else says

wow dude what a valuable contribution
you even included the redditman

>implying there was ever any hwndu community on reddit

>All successful people, in all areas of success, go to that position because of hard work.

That's absolute bullshit.

name some successful people who didn't work hard

justdoit is a pre-hwndu normie meme
why are you even trying to argue, you have a reddit filename on your image

A more accurate statement would be all successful people weren't depressed procrastinating wagecucks or neets. Not necessarily hard work, but a fire under their ass and a brain on their shoulders.

>name some successful people who didn't work hard

Most of the business elite. People in the entertainment industry.

A lot of success is just nepotism or networking, socialising with the right people, being in the right place, going to a school that gives you connections with sons of other successful people.

Yes, it's good to work hard. But there isn't a 1:1 correlation with working hard and being successful.

Many people work hard but get nowhere. Some barely do anything but get handed everything on a silver platter, or get a disease and die.

>Most of the business elite. People in the entertainment industry.

I don't think you know what it takes to be a successful business elite or to be in the entertainment industry. Perhaps two of the most competitive life choices in the world? Sure there's some roll of the dice, but you aren't going to see indecisive, non-confident people succeed.

>business elite. People in the entertainment industry.

hahahahaha, top fucking kek
these are the most hardworking people you will ever meet, these guys do NOTHING but work
confirmed for being a naive jealous maggot

>Many people work hard but get nowhere.

many people fool themselves into believing they work hard but are actually lazy bums who shit post all day

Thanks didn't your positive responses, friends. I will do it.

:^)

>I don't think you know what it takes to be a successful business elite or to be in the entertainment industry

A wealthy daddy for business. Astonishing good looks and mild acting talent/a family member in the business for the entertainment biz.

There are shit loads of talent-less hacks working over and over again in the entertainment business who have good connections.

Also, investing and managing businesses isn't difficult when you can employ enough people to micro manage your investments and advise you on business, after you get access to your lavish trust fund.

Sure. There are plenty of people who work hard and become successful. But there are plenty who don't.

Obvious samefagging.

stay delusional and mediocre

cool now you have an excuse for being a total failure, how convenient

Enough with the hedonism, it's as if you're trying to prove some untenable value you believe yourself to have by way of societal disparage.
Execution and the conviction people like you share rarely converge; it will not be a surprise to me if I were to learn that in whatever you decide to do you find success.
It is something in your attitude that serves as an insinuation towards failure.
I suggest further reflection; get to know yourself before you fuck anything up.

s-s-samefag! stop samefagging!

do not find success*
however, my typo seems to indicate otherwise; maybe you will find success!

I work hard. Probably harder than you.

What's delusional is claiming absolute meritocracy when many industries are notoriously closed and nepotistic.

It isn't an excuse for anything. But it's stupid to tell someone "FOLLOW YOER HURR HUR DUR DREAMS KID, U DO IT IF U WORK HARD" when in reality selling books is a lot more complicated than that.

What if he doesn't want to write something that there is a market for? What if publishers keep looking over his manuscripts? What if he works hard, becomes a genius writer, but is misunderstood by his time?

The OP should pursue their dreams only if they have the passion. Asking people on a board if they should do it indicates they don't have enough passion, at least not yet, to pursue it seriously full time and make it work.

>What if he doesn't want to write something that there is a market for?

then don't expect to make a living doing it? if you're too uptight to work in hollywood and only perform ibsen plays produced by non-profits or some shit, then you can't complain that you didn't become a star, although you may be respected in your obscure community

This mentality is fatalistic shit though. You aren't specifically wrong, but I wouldn't assume a lot of the people ahead in life are there because of luck of birth.

>There are shit loads of talent-less hacks working over and over again in the entertainment business who have good connections.

Yeah, and getting those connections is difficult and I am sure most of the people you know as successful in the entertainment business was not born into it.

The entertainment business is a whole other discussion though, because I am not going to sit here and defend the entertainment industry. You have to work hard, but it's not necessarily the type of hard work that would be considered fulfilling by most of the artistic minded people here in Veeky Forums. Gaining access to the elite in the entertainment industry comes from making deals with groups and when you owe something to them you have to be around to do what they think you owe, just like the business world actually.

Lets just take this specific idea of success then: Making a moderate, livable wage off your art, and having the art be something you truly feel proud of creatively.

This cannot be achieved without lots of dedication and grind. Specifically, to achieve the second part of this idea of success, you have to work countless hours on your craft. There are so many pitholes, so many things to learn, so many bad habits to eliminate, you cannot possibly be the best craftsman you hope to be without constant self training and study. The first part comes from persistence I think, at least it's what I have been told. Persistence is the key to getting published.

My mentality is this. Have some guts and fucking dive in the deep end of the pool. No regrets, no self-consciousness. Yet don't treat it like a vacation, treat it as something that will be 100 times harder and painful than working a full time job your whole life. You will come out either dead or you will come out knowing you took the fucking chance and you achieved at least SOMETHING on your own without ever being told every day which direction to take. You might not be a millionaire, you might even end up living worse off then you did when you first started, but honestly are you really that scared of that?

You think the average lobster fisherman living in Maine isn't going to be part of the hedonistic environment that you're trying to escape? You know very very little about people my friend.

If you really fucking care then just save a lot of money over the next 12 months. Quit your job and dedicate yourself to writing for 3 to 6 months and if you're still not getting shit done then go back to looking for work. Blame the absence from work on a family illness when interviewing to return to your career.

You're on an anime image board

Hedonism in Maine compared to the hyper-hedonism is D.C. aren't equatable. If anything, the way of life in Maine, which is vastly simpler, will surely be a breath of fresh air.

>9453537

Being a fucking fisherman in Maine is such hardwork that you aren't going to want to be a fucking writer. You are just going to go home and drink bourbon and watch movies or shitpost on lit like you always do. Just like every other fisherman does.

Oh yeah and people in maine aren't going to like you, an artsy flower like you will not fit in.

This is ludicrous. Do you know many working class stiffs? They're as hedonistic as fuck and love drinking, clubbing and chasing pussy as much as anybody if not more. The only difference is that they're probably more conservative in their world-view which results in them being both hedonistic and uninterested in bullshit literature at the same time. I'm not saying they aren't good people, most of them probably are but I don't care that they're hedonists.

OP is romanticising the life of a lobster fisherman in Maine. Probably because he watched Manchester by the Sea recently.

>If you really fucking care then just save a lot of money over the next 12 months. Quit your job and dedicate yourself to writing for 3 to 6 months and if you're still not getting shit done then go back to looking for work. Blame the absence from work on a family illness when interviewing to return to your career.
this is exactly what i did. finished a novel and am now sending it to agents. While i wait for responses i'm applying to jobs. had an interview last week and told them that my mom was ill so i had to go back home for a while to take care of her. easily the best decision i've ever made.

This

What's with the meme that all working class people are conservative in their world views.

There are plenty of leftist working class.

lol no
Only way you'll make money is if you get lucky and water down your work to the point of being accessible to a wide audience. You should not quit your job, unless you already have some success and following. So write some books before doing so. Unless you have a family, I hardly see how a 9-5 stops you from being a writer.

if by leftist you mean they vote for whatever democrat their union tells them to vote for, or that they want weed to be legal, or that they think george bush and the jews did 9/11, ok maybe, but if you think you're going to show up at some shitty warehouse job and while you unload trucks you'll be having spirited debates about anarchism vs marxism and trotskyism vs maoism or something, dream the fuck on, you sheltered college commie

You sure you aren't the sheltered one? Yeah I go to uni, but I grew up in a working class family and spent most of my working time doing shitty labouring jobs, landscaping, furniture making and track work.

Working class people aren't all imbecile hicks.

There's plenty that support left wing politics and are reasonably well informed, at least where I live.

if working class people were smart they wouldn't be working class

>an artsy flower like you will not fit in
>implying I will ever transition from an outsider to one of them

I already know that. But that doesn't mean they can't like me. There's plenty of artists in Maine, anyway.

>implying I'm a mindless cuck who wastes his time watching Hollywood bullshit

(I actually did watch the movie, and it was pretty good. But I've been wanting to move to New England for many years now.)

it sounds like you want to be a 'writer', so no. just write for yourself and if you think other people would like it, share it. no need to make it your whole life.

>I already know that. But that doesn't mean they can't like me. There's plenty of artists in Maine, anyway.

the artists in new england are just like the artists in big cities, they have money and live separate lives from the local proletariat, and usually their "artists community" bullshit is a thinly veiled gentrification scheme. if you're not friends with artists in dc you're not going to be friends with them in maine either

>Probably because he watched Manchester by the Sea recently.

oh god as someone who grew up in massachussetts i hate these folksy mass-sploitation flicks churned out by fags like the aflecks and marky mark

OP have you finished any work and polished enough for publication?

If not then stick to your job until you know you can work consistently without breaking. Dont go flying off if you dont even have wings yet.

Of course there are plenty of working class lefties but they're by no means in the majority. Particularly not in the US.

What do you do chief?