I just had a pleasant experience.

Yay!

Hey, it is nice. It matters.

Glad the outer world acknowledged your struggles.

So, no sarcasm?

No patronizing remarks?

No, "good luck with that." (with a side of sarcasm)

No, "is it about me?"

No reminder about the odds?

That's awesome.

And today a friend who only ever asks whether I'm married yet, rang and said she'd heard from another friend I had some poems published. I felt quite weak.
There were talking about my writing, in a good way, when I was actually not there.

These non writers are changing.

Golly, all I ever get is, "Oh yeah? I had some stuff published when I was in college. But ya know, that was a long time ago. Moved on to paying jobs."

Freaks.

when i first started writing i went on and on, and on, about my story and writing so much to friends and family i felt i had pilled loads of pressure onto myself.
when friends and family stopped asking about "the writing" i found i could write without feeling the pressure.

I have a few non-writing friends/family who are interested in my work (mostly b/c they think it's cool I'm a writer), but the usual response I get is "Will you take a look at my story/poem/song/play/etc?"

I've found most of the non-writers in my life (almost everybody else) seem reasonably interested in my work. At least as interested in my work as I am of theirs.

You guys know weird people. I always have experiences like the OP, in fact I haven't had any other kind of experiences.

Imelda said:

...I think she's doing that selective memory thing and pretending I never said 'I detest science, all I want to do is write'.

Click to expand...

Ah, yes. I remember showing my parents some of my work, or a competition win, or something, and saying the same thing - and getting 'Well, that's very nice dear but you must get a proper job.' Some people, sadly, are never going to get it - but in the case of parents, it's usually because they do actually want you to be comfortable, safe, and solvent, and they don't see writing as a way to do that.

And, much as I loathe admitting it, a 'proper' job has advantages. Being unemployed, broke and worried sick about paying the electric bill is not conducive to concentrating on your writing, trust me. Been there.

However it finally occurred to me - only took 20 years or so! That not all paying jobs have to be as boring as (insert rude word here). Some people do actually do things they find interesting, and get paid. I am now looking for an interesting job. You never know, with any luck it might be improper, as well....