Do you fantasize about a writing career?

Of course. And furthermore, I think anyone who writes fiction and says they haven't dreamed of becoming the next (insert canonical writer here) is a liar. How can you take yourself seriously and not fantasize about achieving literary fame? However, I'm not sure this article applies so much to writing. Constant rejection keeps you pretty grounded. That doesn't mean you don't daydream though, that's what writers are supposed to do.

Of course, I didn't mean, in my last post, that I never fantasized....but I try to control myself now and use my imagination to churn out stories instead of dreaming/ worrying about my career.

cmi0616 said:

Of course. And furthermore, I think anyone who writes fiction and says they haven't dreamed of becoming the next (insert canonical writer here) is a liar. How can you take yourself seriously and not fantasize about achieving literary fame? However, I'm not sure this article applies so much to writing. Constant rejection keeps you pretty grounded. That doesn't mean you don't daydream though, that's what writers are supposed to do.

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Careful - given that some people in this thread have said they don't fantasize about this, you're essentially calling your fellow AWers liars - not too friendly!

And, really, your standard for someone taking themselves seriously as a writer is that they dream of achieving literary fame? How about people who don't WANT to be famous? They don't take themselves seriously just because they focus on producing a quality product rather than achieving some capricious external goal that seems, for many people who've achieved it in the past, to end up being more curse than blessing?

If I were inclined to make sweeping statements about the literary credibility of complete strangers, I think I'd be more inclined to say that fantasizing about fame is a contra-indication of taking oneself seriously. I might say that serious writers write for the writing, not the external rewards. But I don't think I'm comfortable making that sort of blanket statement.

I've dreamed of that moment when I get the contract with Writer's House, Random House picks me up and I ride off into the sunset with my six-figure advance. Who hasn't. Then I wake up, realize my theater class is today and pray I've studied enough to pass my exam.

ETA: I agree with the posters who say the don't want to be famous. I want my works to be for sure, I just don't want my name or face to be.

AshNic said:

I found this interesting article about how fantasizing about your goals can be more harmful than good. Yes, I read Cracked.

I'll link to the actual article instead of Cracked.

It's actually an interesting subject, and when it comes to writing, I've been guilty of this. A lot. Like right now.

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I imagine a "writer career", and "making it as a writer". I want to see my book(hopefully, books) in book stores and all of that. However, I know that deep down it really all means nothing if I'm not enjoying myself, if I'm not putting out stories that I like and I'm proud of. So, while it would be nice to be famous as a writer, I'd rather write books that I enjoy(ed) writing.

I certainly do, and I don't consider it a bad thing.

Perhaps we have different understandings of what it means to fantasize; I don't think fantasizing about a goal and working toward that goal are mutually exclusive concepts.

Rather, the fantasizing helps motivate me to do the work necessary to accomplish my goals. It helped me to become the commencement speaker at my high school graduation, it helped me to obtain all of the jobs I've acquired, and it helped me to graduate from college in three years rather than four (I haven't yet graduated, but I expect to graduate in June.) The fact that I visualized myself in these positions prior to obtaining them is what allowed me to take the steps necessary to make those visions come true. Because I knew how I wanted to end up, I knew what I needed to do to get to that point.

I'm hoping the same will happen with my writing career. I'm confident I'll become a published author, whether it be in two years or twenty. In the meantime, I'll dream about it - and, of course, write (and revise over and over and over.)

The process is so gradual for most writers that there never is that big I MADE IT moment.

Many years of reading and writing, reading and writing.

First short story published in a webzine, first print story published in an anthology, first ebook contract. Second, third. First print book on the shelves. First reviews, good and bad, newspaper articles. Money come in. Translation deals. Then big publishing contract, maybe.

The moment one dreams about, the final destination, never really matters as much as the journey getting to that place, the small victories along the path are the most golden.

When I was 17 and 1/2 way through my first novel long-string-of-non-events, I dreamed of the Stephen King fame and fortune. As the years progressed I dreamt of publication and some money. Now I still dream, yes, but I don't care about the money really.

Also, a friend of mine who has published about 20 novels/novellas (with not a lot of monetary recompense) tells me that she concentrates on her art now, and tries to make time to write. I couldn't believe that there was ever a place after being a writer, like it's the holy grail. Maybe when I am published, I'll be bored with it all... I doubt it though.

Not really. I think it would be nice to make a living from writing and be financially comfortable, but as there's more chance of me re-growing the quiff I had when I was 16, I'm not going to spend a lot of time daydreaming. I'll just carry on writing, instead.

cmi0616 said:

Of course. And furthermore, I think anyone who writes fiction and says they haven't dreamed of becoming the next (insert canonical writer here) is a liar. How can you take yourself seriously and not fantasize about achieving literary fame? However, I'm not sure this article applies so much to writing. Constant rejection keeps you pretty grounded. That doesn't mean you don't daydream though, that's what writers are supposed to do.

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I don't, and I have never told a lie

No, but seriously...I object to the word "canonical." I dream of being like writers I love, but definitely not "canonical" writers. Especially as I'm a YA author, a genre that has been unfortunately shut out of the "canon" thus far. Charles Dickens and all those white-guy literary bores can keep it.

I dream of having a career like, say, Gillian Flynn or Nova Ren Suma. Consistent praise, imaginative plots, people who would anticipate my next book. And rely on me to deliver a good book always- "it's bound to be good" and "WHY DO I HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG" are my greatest dreams.

John Green is about as hyperbolic as I'm willing to go, but as I don't write one of the "big hitter" genres like paranormal or dystopian, Suzanne Collins and Stephenie Meyer are out of reach. I write contemp, but I'm a realistic daydreamer - the odds of being John Green are pretty small when I'm a) female and b) a writer of dark contemp, which is unlikely to ever have the same mass appeal.

I dream of making a good comfortable living and having some anticipation/hype around my books. And I resent people who say "why are you daydreaming when you should be writing?" Daydreaming is what keeps me writing - the reminder that "nothing will come from nothing", so I better keep going.

... my fantasy at present is more about being able to craft a solid story and get everything more or less right. Hopefully, other things will follow from that. But those other things are no longer my focus, as they were when I was first starting out. Then, my fantasy was to become rich from writing and be famous, etc. Kinda embarrassed to admit that now. Shh ;-)

I don't fantasize. I plan. I have my goals and I will meet them.

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Last year when a well known writer came to our school, I was overwhelmed with writing career envy. It wasn't about the money. This wonderful guy described his day like this: Go to his own little section of a very old private library in his town, write for two hours, research for two hours, read for two hours. I want that. Indeed I do. I also want to do school visits and hang about at writing conferences and workshops when I'm not at the library. It would be heaven.

Yes, I do. It's not something that consumes me, or something that diverts my attention from more productive activities. But, yes, when I'm on my way to work for another grueling 12-hour shift, I do fantasize about how nice it would be to make a living as an author. When I get home after said shift, splattered with blood, beaten down by death & sadness, yes, I dream about being an author full-time. And each time I have opportunity to sit at my computer and crank out a few words, I do briefly think how wonderful it would be to spend every day with my characters in a world I created.
Sure, I dream. I dream big, I dream frequently, in short segments. Then I get on with things, and do what I have to do to make it happen. I don't mind working toward a dream. If a person never dreamed, never wanted for anything, what sense would there be in going on? I think it would be a very boring life, if we had everything we ever wanted.
Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy...I mean, er, EB

cmi0616 said:

Of course. And furthermore, I think anyone who writes fiction and says they haven't dreamed of becoming the next (insert canonical writer here) is a liar. How can you take yourself seriously and not fantasize about achieving literary fame? However, I'm not sure this article applies so much to writing. Constant rejection keeps you pretty grounded. That doesn't mean you don't daydream though, that's what writers are supposed to do.

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*bolded mine*

Um. *blinks* Wow. Seriously? I'm a liar just because I have no desire for everyone in the developed world to know who I am, where I live, and what I have for breakfast? Dude, there's a reason I use a pen name. And just because I prefer to remain in the shadows does not mean I'm not serious about my writing. I enjoy what I do. I enjoy what I write. It does not have to make me a gajillionaire, nor do I have to fantasize that it will, to mean I'm serious about it.

As another poster said, there's a rule around here about this type of statement. Just sayin'.

*steps down off soap box*

Ellen said:

This sounds an awful lot like me. Sometimes I wish I could turn off my brain! Do you know what your Myers Briggs type is? I'm ENTJ.

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I do not know what mine is. I do think my constant "what if" thinking is a survival mechanism born from my childhood, where surprises were often unpleasant and avoiding surprises was a good idea. I'm a bit hyper-vigilant as well.

Kayley said:

I certainly do, and I don't consider it a bad thing.

Perhaps we have different understandings of what it means to fantasize; I don't think fantasizing about a goal and working toward that goal are mutually exclusive concepts.

Rather, the fantasizing helps motivate me to do the work necessary to accomplish my goals. It helped me to become the commencement speaker at my high school graduation, it helped me to obtain all of the jobs I've acquired, and it helped me to graduate from college in three years rather than four (I haven't yet graduated, but I expect to graduate in June.) The fact that I visualized myself in these positions prior to obtaining them is what allowed me to take the steps necessary to make those visions come true. Because I knew how I wanted to end up, I knew what I needed to do to get to that point.

I'm hoping the same will happen with my writing career. I'm confident I'll become a published author, whether it be in two years or twenty. In the meantime, I'll dream about it - and, of course, write (and revise over and over and over.)

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Well said. I personally believe that positive visualization has an effect on self and situation. It's not an either or concept. We dream and do, not just dream.

I have one fantasy about being a writer.

I'm in a coffee shop, having just picked up my small latte, and I see a young woman reading my book. I introduce myself as the author and offer to sign her copy.

That's it.

As for getting to that point, I don't fantasize, I plan. I have a reasonable schedule to be able to replace my regular income with a combination of writing and carefully invested savings over the next twelve years.

It's me plan. I planned it.

The_Ink_Goddess said:

I don't, and I have never told a lie

No, but seriously...I object to the word "canonical." I dream of being like writers I love, but definitely not "canonical" writers. Especially as I'm a YA author, a genre that has been unfortunately shut out of the "canon" thus far. Charles Dickens and all those white-guy literary bores can keep it.

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So does it make it okay if I say "talented/well-known"?

Beachgirl said:

*bolded mine*

Um. *blinks* Wow. Seriously? I'm a liar just because I have no desire for everyone in the developed world to know who I am, where I live, and what I have for breakfast? Dude, there's a reason I use a pen name.

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LOL I don't know what world you live in, but in the one I inhabit, no writer is that famous, nor has any writer been that famous in a very long time. The 1920's this is not.

Seriously, who's the most famous living writer? Jonathan Franzen? JK Rowling? All I know about either is that the latter lives in England and the former hates Twitter. Hardly the stuff of People Magazine.

But you're telling me you've never said "hm, wouldn't it be nice if people bought and appreciated my books to the extent that I was able to do this professionally and devote my life to this?"

That's all I'm saying.

Captcha said:

Careful - given that some people in this thread have said they don't fantasize about this, you're essentially calling your fellow AWers liars - not too friendly!

And, really, your standard for someone taking themselves seriously as a writer is that they dream of achieving literary fame? How about people who don't WANT to be famous? They don't take themselves seriously just because they focus on producing a quality product rather than achieving some capricious external goal that seems, for many people who've achieved it in the past, to end up being more curse than blessing?

If I were inclined to make sweeping statements about the literary credibility of complete strangers, I think I'd be more inclined to say that fantasizing about fame is a contra-indication of taking oneself seriously. I might say that serious writers write for the writing, not the external rewards. But I don't think I'm comfortable making that sort of blanket statement.

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Well, of course writers are people who want to write for writing's sake. I forgot who it was that said: "If you don't have to write, why on Earth would you?"

But I can't buy that there are people who write fiction who have any ambition beyond just writing the thing down. Perhaps memoirists or essayists might write for their own pleasure, or to sort out there thoughts, but fiction is written for the reader.

So, therefore, all (if not the vast majority of) fiction writers must want to be published on some level. And it wouldn't make sense to have your work published and not want it to be successful. Otherwise, you're not taking it seriously. How could you be?

You would be surprised how many relatively low-level authors get stalked. It isn't pleasant. Being outed the wrong way can mean losing jobs, being ostracized in the community, and even having family members suffer by association. Fame for fame's sake is foolish. Most of us would settle for income over fame.

Filigree said:

You would be surprised how many relatively low-level authors get stalked.

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You would be surprised how many average joe's get stalked. My mother is a judge and she had a pro se litigant stalking her for a long a time. One of my female friends was stalked relentlessly by an old boyfriend from high school. Stalking has very little to do with fame.

ebbrown said:

But, yes, when I'm on my way to work for another grueling 12-hour shift, I do fantasize about how nice it would be to make a living as an author. When I get home after said shift, splattered with blood, beaten down by death & sadness, yes, I dream about being an author full-time.

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My job is nowhere near as draining as yours sounds, but this, exactly. After a long day of kissing up to demanding clients, I dream of the day when I can be the one being kissed up to. Not that I'd enjoy it or anything...

ETA: And before anyone tells me being an author does not necessarily mean being kissed up to, a hippo can dream!