Skip to main content

"You can't make a living writing." Really?

Many parents should mortgage, re-mortgage and sell of properties just to get their kids through college. My parents did the same thing and in exchange for a law degree. With that, it’s natural for them to expect me to make something out of it. Hence, when I pounced on them with the news that “I am going to write for a living…on the Internet…not with a magazine, not with a newspaper, not with a renowned financial or law journal…but on the Internet”, my parents cried themselves to sleep every night for months on end.
It’s natural for people to think that creative people are bound for the less-trodden hard-traveled road of poverty. Writing is a passion, as with acting, singing and painting. You’ll never and should never (according to some obscure, source-unknown folklore out there…it’s the X-files we’re talking about there) expect immediate return. If your writing brings you financial security, you better start thanking your lucky stars!
Continue reading (Marshamaung.com - New Window)
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Same as me. My parents so worried I'll end up as a drug addict or alcoholic when they saw that I was very passionate about being a Musician and Singer.

"You cant earn a living doing that. You crazy ah??" Those were their words.

Today...they not only had to eat their words...that are actually so proud of me.

killer
May 31, 2008 at 12:50 AM
Marsha Maung said…
killer, the point is not to prove them wrong but the point is to prove that we are right. That it can be done! It's possible and we've got the patience to do it.

And you and I know how much time it takes to completely one practise and perfect one song, rite? and the people sit there and listen to it five minutes and then they either clap or boo,right? behind all of that is alot of hard work.

and that's what makes the creative world tick.
May 31, 2008 at 1:42 AM
Anonymous said…
I'm glad to hear you post this because I'm *trying* to make it work myself. There have been offers...and haggles as well!

Thanks for inspiring the newbies...
June 6, 2008 at 3:59 AM
Anonymous said…
Sorry for the Anon above - it's really different surfing from the "great wall" of China. I couldn't sign in with my Blogger account.

KittyCat - http://apregnantpause.net
June 6, 2008 at 4:01 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maid Side-Kick

I was kind of a little sad when I read the news about this - there will be no live-in Indonesian maids in Malaysia anymore . There are pros and cons to having a live-in maid, as with everything else, but for us, we enjoyed more pros than cons. Back then, when my kids were little, we brought in a family of maids to help with...well, just about everything, and we were like two families merged into one. They ate what we ate, we sleep, they sleep, we shop, they shop, they joke, we laugh, we joke, they laugh...for me, the maid I hired was more like a sister and side-kick to me. For that few years, I was dependent on her to mind-read my schedule and when I need or don't need help. She picked things up quickly and we ended up having lots of moments whereby we were in sync. Today, two of them are on my Facebook and we were gleefully chatting over Facebook Messenger since they've just discovered the wonders of the Internet and Social Media. Since we were more like partners in crim...
Post a Comment
Read more

Drunk People Cannot Make Comments on Blogs

OK, here's the thing with this image thing....you don't want people to design robots or programs or spiders or cockroaches or whatever to spam blogs and websites. I understand that. In fact, I am all for it. It's annoying to have spambots come in and post one liners like.... Can't get it up? Try this website. Top quality Viagra for low pricing. Value discount if bought inbulk. Or the most common ones would be.... Want a completely paid-for holiday with your family and coming home to a villa beside the sea before taking a spin in your luxury car. Then you have to read this! It's amazing! Within three weeks, you will get $32,000 in your account. Within a month, whether you like it or not, we'll bank in $65,498 into your bank account. Within six months, you're a f*%#@* royalty. I don't like that....and I assuming you don't like that either, right? If you have a popular blog, you get even worse stuff like hate mails, awful comments or people who ...
2 comments
Read more

A Liberating Activity - Guess What Mine Is....

When asked what’s my one single favorite thing to do in the world, I would usually name a whole list of things that I love to do when my work is not screaming at me. Something that takes my mind COMPLETELY off of everyday tasks and relaxes me. Take a guess what it is…. If you say ‘ reading ’, yes, I love reading (especially soppy love stories with lots of sex scenes, please. Hee hee hee ….) and I also love mystery novels but it’s not the first on the list. If you say ‘ playing the piano ’; yes, I love playing the piano. Creating forms a huge part of my life and whenever I play the piano (as inept at it as I am), there’s this tiny little girl inside of me jumping up and down with glee, clapping her hands. It’s my childhood dream to be able to play the piano! And thumping on the keys gives me a sense of satisfaction when I hear the music. If you say ‘ writing ’; You’ve got to be kidding me! You mean I don’t write enough as it is? Case closed. If you say ‘ playing with my kids ’; Yea...
20 comments
Read more