The Vine: March 9, 2001
Sarah,
I am a big fan, which is part of the reason why I’m writing you. I’m 18 years old, and in my senior year of high school, which of course is a time when people expect you to think seriously about the future. While I have an idea of what I want to do for the next few years, I’m pretty confused about the rest of my life. I know that’s normal, and most seniors don’t know the answers to those big questions, but I’m still on the lookout. Right now I’m thinking that being a professional writer sounds good, because I love to write, and all the “career advice” types tell us we should try to do what we love. Well, since I think you’re hysterical, smart, and pretty successful as a writer, what advice would you give to a maybe-aspiring freelance writer? If I decide I want to do this, how should I begin? What are the upsides and the downsides to this sort of work? Any other words of wisdom for me?
Thanks so much,
Wannabe Sars
Dear Wannabe,
Aw. Flattery will get you everywhere.
Writing isn’t a career that I consciously chose. It’s just this thing that I can do, that I could always do. But when you decide that that’s What You Do For A Living, well…it’s not an easy life, always. You have to want it; you have to believe that there’s nothing else for you. Otherwise, it’s not worth it.
But I can’t really give you any advice that would help. You have to find your own way; you have to find out for yourself that it’s hard work, that it’s often thankless, that you feel like you’ve entered a vacuum sometimes and your friends with nine-to-five jobs make you feel lonely. I can only counsel you to do two things: learn another skill, and read a lot. I type 80 words per minute, and it’s kept me in Camels and Steve Maddens for the last six years. You need to know how to do something else — Powerpoint, filing, holding down a waitress station — so that you have something to fall back on, some way to keep money coming in. And read. In order to write well, you have to have read well and know how the language hangs together intuitively, and that’s the only way to learn.
Don’t give up. Stick with it. Try. Work. I know this isn’t terribly helpful, but if pat advice on the topic existed, everyone would write for a living.
