In yesterday’s discussion about writers and sensitivity, Gordon Pamplona left a comment that stuck with me:
“…a lot of times the sensitivity about the writing is a stand-in for sensitivity about something else: you spent so much time chasing this pipe dream that you lose your job, your marriage, your kids; your kids don’t respect you because you didn’t write Harry Potter or Twilight; you charged a lot of money on the credit card for conferences and classes with no tangible results, and now the family is eating beans and rice. For many of us, writing is an addiction, no different from alcohol or drugs or gambling. And maybe people who are angry, bitter, stressed out, or despondent should take a hard look at whether this is something they should be doing–if it’s gone from a hobby to something that’s ruining their lives and their relationships with others.”
As a society, we often celebrate tortured and struggling artists who finally make it big despite their obstacles, and yet we don’t often examine the flip side of this, which is that the vast majority of tortured and struggling artists don’t actually make it. We tend to encourage everyone to write (Person 1 tells an interesting story, Person 2 says “Wow, you should write a book about that”), and there are very few people out there willing to tell any writer they don’t have what it takes and should probably try pursuing something else with their time. I’m guilty of this as well – who am I to say whether or not someone will or won’t be published?
But is this the right approach? Is writing, especially when the odds are long and the cost to a personal life is high, sometimes akin to addiction? When does it cross the line from hobby to “habit?” And should we be encouraging everyone to write?
Anonymous says
When is writing unhealthy?
When you let it define you, which is something I've always worked hard not to do.
I'm posting anon for two reasons. I don't want it to look like I'm hocking books, and I don't want my readers or my agent to know that my work doesn't define me. Just as long as I know it, is all that matters.
sex scenes at starbucks says
Another thing, I wholeheartedly agree that no one should discourage a writer to write. Who are we to make that call? But moreover, I liken this very conversation (sorry Nathan) to when my kids tattle.
I always ask them, "Who are you in charge of?"
"Just myself," they say.
Anonymous says
Writing is a hard industry to break into. Even with a great book or idea (non-fiction) that doesn't guarantee you won't receive more rejections than a pimply teenage boy approaching the prom queen.
For many writers, ridiculous time spent writing then rewriting and then all the last minute proofreads, attending conferences, trying to network on Twitter or Facebook where many authors and agents don't want to chat with you unless you can boost their own careers, are the prices we have to pay into order to strike gold. There are those who should never attempt to pick up a pen, but who's going to take the time out of their own busy schedule to read it and then break the hard news that they suck, therefore crushing their dreams? I don't think anyone should put their writing career or any other career for that matter in front of their own family and health, but aspiring authors have a tough initiation to get through if they ever want to play with the big dogs.
Terry says
Not my place to discourage anyone from their dreams. It's too subjective.
Ficiton writing is an art, not a science. I think of all the stories about actors and writers, who were told time and again they were gargage and to quit. Then they became huge successes. I wouldn't want to chance discouraging any one.
As far as ruining their lives over writing, I don't know anyone who comes even close to that. It can't be typical.
Jason says
Great question Nathan…I don't claim to have any answers to this (other than you should NEVER let anything threaten your family), but I was thinking about this the other night when I was watching a 60 Min segment about Drew Barrymore.
She said that she believes that all the probs she had in her childhood and teen years were actually good because of how she's overcome them. It's hard to argue that she's overcome a LOT to become a huge hit, but I'm not convinced that she needed to experience a complete meltdown to achieve her current success. Personally I lean toward the idea that she always had the potential for greatness, but did not live up to it until she started doing things that make sense.
Anyway, that's my pop psychology lesson for today… 🙂
Thermocline says
A stack of journals holds a quiet place in a closet near my bedroom. Writing, forcing unkempt emotions to solidify into still words, helped when I've needed clarity throughout my life.
Should everyone be encouraged to write?
Absolutely.
Encouraging others to write with the goal of being published is not nearly as therapeutic.
Jennifer Leeland says
I've always believed the difference between the unsuccessful author and the successful one is that the the unsuccessful author gave up.
In a business that can be a vacuum, dog eat dog, brutal, a time sucking vortex of depression and downright crappy, it's easy to hang it up.
It's NOT easy to keep going, keep improving, keep AT IT.
Now, having said that, I'm one who has become convinced that writing can stale, stressful and unhealthy. That means I need a break.
It's WAY too easy to listen to the voices out there of "what sells", "what's good" and "what's next".
When I spend too much of my time listening to those voices instead of my characters, I'm in trouble.
Yes, this profession takes sacrifice. But every job does.
The trick is to balance it all…..which is a blog post all by itself.
abc says
This is interesting (as Larry David might say). Artist types are tricky. I agree with many other commenters, any time you do anything to the detriment of your family than you have a problem. (Hello there, Mr. Heeme, Goslins, Randy "The Ram"). And I don't think you can just blame being a writer or being an artist but a larger, much deeper problem.
I take Paxil so I can lead a mentally healthy life and highly recommend it to those who can't get out of bed in the morning. If you have a personality disorder there isn't much that can be done, I'm afraid. And people with personality disorders love to make explosive comments on websites, it seems.
Rejection hurts but I can move on. I only write when I'm enjoying it. And I kinda like beans and rice (vegetarian, that's me).
I don't think I've answered the question. Ah well. Ritalin?
Kristin Laughtin says
I think there's a difference between encouraging someone to write, and encouraging someone to write to the exclusion of all else. Whether you write as a habit or as a job (primary or secondary), I firmly believe there are ways to balance your life so that writing doesn't cost you your family/job/health/sanity. When I hear about those tortured artists who sacrificed everything but made it big, I don't celebrate that. It makes me sad that they had to do it, and makes me question whether such an extreme approach was really necessary. And it infuriates me when I see other writers, agents, publicists, editors, or people who think they know more than they do harp on writers for not spending enough time on writing, for spending time with their families or getting sick or enjoying anything besides writing.
Yes, writing, especially with an eye toward publication, is hard work. It likely includes some sacrifices: less time to watch TV, more time at the computer or hunched over a stack of paper, less time for other activities. But I firmly believe that if you spend all your time writing (or pursuing any one thing, really), you're either going to burn out, run out of things to write about because you're not experiencing anything, or turn to unhealthy behaviors to keep going. I also think wrapping your identity up in one thing is dangerous, especially if it's something that most people aren't going to be able to achieve. Yes, writing can be an addiction, and that's not good. Anything taken to the extreme can be an addiction.
I think we can encourage people to write, but we should also encourage them to be reasonable. A little restructuring of one's life is fine, but if it starts taking a toll on one's relationships, health, happiness, or sanity, it should be seen as OK to step back and re-evaluate whether this hobby or career is really worth it. For some people, this might mean giving up writing entirely, and that doesn't mean they're bad people. But I think the majority can find a healthy balance, even if it means it takes them a bit longer to write that book.
StrugglingSerpent says
You don't have to be Michael Jordan to play playground basketball. You don't have to be Pavarotti or Mick Jagger to sing in the shower. When is writing unhealthy? When it kills you.
Anonymous says
Great post. Although I haven't jeopardized my job or my family and never would, I seem to be over doing it right now. My house is a mess and even though I say I'm going to workout everyday, I keep sitting at the computer. I’ve got to start turning this thing off after two and a half hours and do some other stuff!
Natasha Fondren says
I think it's none of our business whether someone decides to write or not. They are an adult, it is their life, and I'm sure they have their reasons. If they've made the decision, then our job is to respect that and, unless we're their enemy and our life's dream is to butt into other people's business, we should support and encourage them.
Our society spends too much time judging others.
*Rice and beans is FAR HEALTHIER than what most Americans serve their kids.
Shannon says
Writing does not need to be done to the exclusion of all other activities. I've always had a job, I've been married 14 years, I have a 3 year old child, they all come first. The thing is, my other responsibilities don't detract from my writing. They feed and inform it. It may take me a really long time to finish something but I am able to bring to it a richness that I would not have if I only lived, breathed and ate writing and reading every day. I am also very much a "backburner" writer. I do not write every day and I do not try, unless I am motivated to do so. Sometimes a thing has to be left alone to work itself out. It's been my experience that when the writing comes to me on its own, when my subconscious has worked it all out while I am doing other things, then it's better writing than anything that I might force out. So I'm comfortable with the idea that I am "working" on my novel even when I'm not sitting at the computer, punching keys.
David Kubicek says
I have a long-standing policy never to tell anyone that they can't write and would be better off looking at other career options. After all, one of William Faulkner's professors advised him to quit writing because he wasn't very good at it. And I can remember what utter dreck I wrote when I was beginning. Writers who persist will learn to write well, and writers who write well will be published (This assumes, of course, that they know the market for which they are writing).
Solvang Sherrie says
Does lack of sleep count as unhealthy?
I've been revising the last two nights and got a total of four hours sleep. For two nights. I'm running on adrenaline over here, but damn that book is better now! M
y cooking, cleaning, driving…I can't really speak for. I guess it could be quite dangerous…
Scott says
I don't think being passionate about writing and a writing career causes problems in any way. It's like blaming the gun for the crime.
Some people have a propensity for self-destruction and they'll crash and burn on their "drug" of choice as a matter of dark course, but I don't see how writing, or a dogged adherence to the rigorous road of authorship, is inherently connected in the least.
I'm sure most aspiring authors are covering their butts while they pursue their dreams.
Terry says
Well said, Natasha Fondren! I agree. We've become a society of meddlers and scolds.
I like sex scenes at starbucks' anecdote about her kids too. Good mom.
JDuncan says
Writing is a solitary pursuit. To this end, it's a fairly selfish endeavor. It's by us and for us. Family, job, cleaning, outdoor activities, they all get shelved to pursue it. It's not a full time pursuit, unless of course you are making your primary living with it. You may dream that it will become that, but to pursue it as though it is would be a great disservice to yourself and those around you. In my opinion one should not be willing to write without first being willing to do it without ever making money at it. Because odds are, you won't. Even if you do sell, the odds are you won't make a living at it. Don't get into this with the idea of generating your primary income through writing. Don't encourage people to pursue writing without telling them the realities.
I've sold a book. I hope to develop this into a career that makes my primary income. There's a good chance this won't happen. I'm fully aware of this, and will not drop my other responsibilities in life to pursue this dream. I can't afford to, and also, I'm just not that selfish a person.
Chris Bates says
You're in trouble if you're a gambler.
Anyone who is sitting at their table tapping away with the hope of writing a bestseller that makes them some big bucks may as well head over to the roulette wheel – your chances are much better over there.
I'm not just talking about beginners either, I'm talking mid-list writers who are trying to build a back-list that one day pays the bills. Honestly, there are easier ways to make money.
My guess is that anyone who sacrifices family time, interaction with friends, healthy exercise and community engagement for endless keyboard time will inevitably show all the hallmarks of depression. Reclusive desires, sensitivity, low self-esteem, angst-ridden or highly emotional writing. You know, the 'woe is me' thing … we've all been there.
Of course, these may be the personal traits of many legendary writers, but they are also an indicator of unbalanced personalities.
Put it in perspective. Books are just ink on paper (mostly), the 'I REALLY NEED to write' defense is a construct of wealthy western advantage. The easiest cure to this kind of thinking is to stop reading literary/publishing/agent blogs for a couple of weeks. You'll soon discover how unimportant books are to most of the world.
So, by all means, spend some time knocking out a novel, starting a business, building a cult… whatever. But do it whilst being involved with normal life that is sprinkled with kids, family, friends, career.
Or don't. Feel free to ante up. Maybe you'll be a huge bestseller. All the power to you if that happens.
Anonymous says
When I take a coffee break at work and spend 2 hours writing in my office instead of doing the necessary paper work, it is risky behavior. When that becomes a habit it is unhealthy.
Charlie says
Using your own blood could be downright detrimental to your health. You need to sterilize the knife before you cut and clean the wound afterwards. Using someone else’s blood is so much easier. Why bother with your own?
Oh! Silly me. I misunderstood the question.
Never write while your driving. Unless you’re dictating.
I love being helpful! 🙂
Chris Bates says
@ Charlie:
I'm a constant dictator whilst driving.
"If you bloody kids don't shut the hell up and do what I tell you, I swear to god that I'm gonna stop the friggin' car and make you both walk to the playground naked."
Lis Garrett says
I've got three kids and a husband, so it's a no-brainer (for me) that they come before anything. I just finished the first revision of my YA book today and will hand it off to my group of friends who've been reading it from the beginning for them to edit. Then I will devote even more time to polishing it so that I can spend 2010 trying to find an agent and publisher. And if that doesn't work out, at least I'll know I gave it my best shot.
The only money I've invested has been for a creative writing course, and it's something my husband urged me to pursue. Once you cross over that line where other priorities are suffering, you need to put down the pen and step away from the keyboard. As long as my family isn't complaining or going hungry, I'll continue to write.
If I can't make this work in another year or two once all my kids are in school, though, then I might have to get a "real" job. 😉
Oh, and everyone should be encouraged to write, but not everyone should be published (and perhaps I'm one of those people).
Bron says
As others have said, everything in moderation. Writing to the exclusion of family, friends and day job is unhealthy, but so is spending all your waking moments at your day job, or all your time hanging out with friends.
Writing will require sacrifices, and there will be periods where you can't spend as much time with family and friends, but these periods shouldn't be all the time.
Encouraging people to write is fine. Encouraging people to publish is another thing. But I don't think you can really tell someone that they'll never be published, because people can work on their craft and get better over time. But I think it's ok to say, 'This particular piece isn't ready to be published. Maybe you should work on something else.'
Matty Byloos says
Seems to me this is pretty clear — As a creator of things, I've had a pretty solid foothold in both the art world (as a painter) and in the literary world (as a published author only of late). That being said, I've NEVER managed to find happiness in anything even remotely resembling "chasing the dream." I write and make art because I want to, because there is pleasure to be found in the activity of doing either, and because in terms of my identity, that's how I define myself. As a younger version of the current me, I definitely had expectations of what was going to happen career-wise. And that was how I managed to be unhappy doing what I was doing.
The world owes every one of us exactly nothing. To set up the game for yourself on the foundation that you deserve certain successes, such as getting anything published, is simply a recipe for disaster.
I recommend finding the reward in the love of your own evolution as a maker of things. Take the extra energy if you have any, and develop a community of trusted fellow writers or whatever, around you. Give to others in a similar spot, instead of looking for what you can get out of the world. And really think about whether what you make is more important than the fellow human beings who surround you.
That's my two cents…
Anonymous says
I agree with Gina.
For me at least, the 'real world' holds little to no value. I don't have many friends; I'm not interested in romance; study bores me, and I have no career aspirations.
The prospect of a mediocre life seems pointless to me. Marriage, kids, job? I just don't care. Becoming a writer is probably less than a 0.00000001% chance for me, but I would rather spend my life failing at the one thing I enjoy than waste it doing something I have a 99% chance of doing well in, but being miserable about it.
I only have to look around the subway every morning to see that people out there in the 'real world' are pretty damn gloomy.
lora96 says
Well.
That's just disturbing.
My opinion of telling writers they are not cut out for it is this: If the style and plot are that abysmal, please please tell me not to quit my day job. I will take a hard look at the writing and either be galvanized to "prove you wrong" by improving, or else I'll quit. Well before anyone has to live on rice and beans. Honestly.
Carl Selby says
I personally set my alarm for 05:25am; write for two hours; go to work and manage a care home for eight hours; then go to university for two hours in the evening!
I think it's really important to make sure your family are behind you BEFORE you start on your writing journey – this could mean the difference between success and failure. I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful fiance who understands my need to be me.
Why not visit my blog at https://www.carlselby.wordpress.com to follow my journey to publication. Add me by RSS, leave a post with your details, and I'll return the favour and follow you.
Regards,
Carl Selby
Joann says
Anon 2:30 – it's amazing how the day-to-day mundane can become so much sweeter when you get to spend a little time each day doing something you truly love. Without the balance, life (for me) becomes quickly unsatisfying. I feel guilt-ridden and wallow in more self-doubt when I spend too much time writing. If I didn't have my brilliant husband, three spoiled cats, and my 8-5 job, I wouldn't enjoy writing half as much. Writing is my reward for working my butt off on everything else. As Stephen King so eloquently put it, "If you can do it for the joy, you can do it forever." My joy includes the mundane.
Word verification: cincing. I'm sure this has an especially deep meaning, but my work-mode brain is missing it. Damn!
Linda Godfrey says
I think it's fine to encourage everybody to write — but not to engender belief that everyone will be published or be able to live off their writing. So much of the general public believes anyone who writes a book will probably get rich from it. It's sadly astonishing. And I do know people whose lives have been negatively impacted because they expected to "hit the big one" from publishing a small press or self-published book. I also know a writer whose first book was a megahit and so went crazy buying homes and luxuries which later had to be sold when the next books didn't measure up.
I think there should be much more education on the business end of writing so that people will go in with eyes at least half open.
And rice and beans can be very delicious.
Larry Muse says
I would hope that I could rely on the honesty of the professionals. If in the opinion of a professional agent my writing has no hope of ever being published I for one would like to have that information, even if I decided to ignore it and continued to write. If I received many (three or more.) of these answers I would sit in a corner and cry for thirty seconds and then try some other endeavor and only write for my friends and myself.
Perhaps it would also be to the benefit of the agents as I would most likely not send my detractors any more of my work; therefore cutting down on their work load.
Regan Leigh says
I agree with Kristi. – "Wow, I found Gordon's comment to be sad but don't think it applies to most writers. If someone has an addictive personality, they tend to substitute another addiction when one recedes."
Writing is a healthy passion for most writers. Even if they never succeed in the publishing end of things, they reap rewards in other areas of their life. It's all about balance and self-awareness to ones own priorities.
Maureen says
I don't think there is anything unhealthy in a daily writing habit. It's just that in our culture we have a star mentality. We worship all stars — sports, music, movie, TV and authors. And some writers don't feel like a true writer unless they are pursuing publication. They forget that a writer is someone who writes and not just a blockbuster author. It was suggested in an earlier post, the problem may be the pursuit of publication that gets out of hand. As with anything we choose to do with our lives, there has to be balance.
wickerman says
Not to be a big let down after all the posts trying to explain some of the causes and ramifications for obsessive writers, but I have a bit of a twisted take.
If you look at musicians, artists, writers etc, you will find that those activities tend to provide a screen for assholes who want to hide their brand of stupid/crazy/anti-social/pathetic/brooding/anger or whatever else behind the label of 'tortured artist'.
Now I'm sure there are a few otherwise normal folks who let their writing (or whatever else) go to far, but the real nutjobs are likely imbeciles who tried to slap the 'I'm really creative' label on the fact that they need a kick in the head.
Just saying is all 🙂
Paula says
I don't think writing is different from any other pursuit that harms relationships or wreaks havoc on finances. The problem is with the individual, not writing per se.
LCS249 says
There's almost no danger/unhealthiness that I can think of … except getting too much into one's own head.
Writing is a lonely, cerebral activity. It requires almost shutting out contact and intrusions of any kind in order to truly focus.
For myself, I can sense a point when I've actually been at it too long, to the point of having some difficulty re-engaging.
Quite different than being a musician, a potter, a painter …
Anonymous says
Writers write because they have to. Hobbyists hang it up or write when they feel "inspired."
Artists don't have to be nice guys; they have to feed their art. Would you have wanted to be friends with Proust or Picasso, Tolstoi or Van Gogh or Beethoven? Probably not. Is the world a better place because they fed their art? Indeed.
Bonnie Ferron says
Our society doesn't validate anything but success. No one wants to be stamped with the label "Loser," and yet you can't achieve without trying and sometimes falling flat on your face. The secret is, I think, to let go of the result. Do your best, send it out, and move on to the next story.
Trish says
I don’t need any encouragement to write, I’m already addicted. It’s become part of my life and I can’t stop. I’d never give up even if somebody did suggest I would never get published, ‘cause I know I will!
Personally, I would never tell another writer that they’d never get published. If they’re passionate enough, they’ll just keep learning how to write better.
‘Naughty Stories for Good Boys and Girls’ is a best seller and the author, Christopher Milne, was turned down by many publishers and agents. He self published in the year 2000and his first book was the winner of the Young Australian Best Book of the Year Award. He now has thirteen books in one great volume and it’s still on the best seller shelf in book shops.
Pete Pescatore says
Trouble is, as they say about people in Hollywood, 'nobody knows anything', meaning nobody can predict what's going to be a hit, what people will like, what's even good – at least before it's out there and able to be judged. In any case there's always a cost to making art, and often it's the family who pays, along with the artist/writer. Like addicts who don't know when to stop or can't when they know they should, writers keep going, even to the point of self-destruction. It's always a matter of negotiation, how much or little you're prepared to give up, how self-absorbed you are, how determined to make it, how (un)lucky you are, how willing you are to fight for what you want/need, and how much your loved ones are willing/able to put up with. You have to wonder why everybody wants to be a writer, and everybody thinks they can write. What's so great about being a writer? You're alone most of the time with only your dreams for company, the people you make up, and with what possible reward? Somebody who says, ten years down the road, 'oh, I read your book. What was it about again?' Or, if you're lucky, 'oh, I read that. Weird. Is is autobiographical?' In short, a gazillion reasons to give up, go cold turkey and get a real job. But no… here we all are, writing, dreaming, waiting like so many Cinderellas for Prince Nathan to appear at the door.
Gordon Pamplona says
Thank you, Nathan, for highlighting my question for discussion, and for everything else you do on behalf of writers at all stages. And thanks to all of the people who have contributed their thoughtful comments to this discussion.
Jeffrey says
You should almost always support someone's enthusiasm when they express it (unless they are just insulting you, as Nathan described a few days ago). Later, or sometime after you support them, you can, helpfully, and if they want it, let them know about the resources you know about and give them a clue that there are standard and what it might take. But there is no saying that a person won't gather the skills and resources they need if they are passionate about their idea.
If they are just fantasizing about writing without any connection to reality (as in, I want to be surgeon, maybe I can start tomorrow), they will find out when you direct them to the resources. In any case, people can enjoy writing even if they don't get far in the published world.
You can organize an intervention if it starts to ruin their life. The chances are so small for that though that you are better off supporting their enthusiasm. It could always change to golf tomorrow.
Anonymous says
It's the agony and the ecstasy.
Kristi says
Is writing an addiction or an inspired passion? Who's to say? We humans are wired to receive a jolt from instant gratification triggers.
Why would writing be any different?
Perhaps the difference, as with drinking, is found in the person. Some may be doing it to polish a craft while others are doing it for the thrill of the feedback, thus when they don't get the kind of feedback they're looking for they become inappropriately irate.
Carolyn B says
I don't think writing itself can ever be unhealthy. The whole argument reminds me of the one about money – is it the root of all evil? NO. The PURSUIT of money is the evil. The relentless pursuit of publication and/or recognition may be unhealthy. I know one young man who claims he is a writer and has a miserable life, but his problems go way beyond any writing "addiction" he may have.
C.D. Reimer says
When your eyeballs are bloodshot and you can't explain how you got red ink on your nose while editing your novel for the nth time.
Scott says
I'll say this, too: addiction is often a response to having experienced a high and wanting it back. Sorry, but I'm chasing no highs with my writing. I haven't had any!
However, I do feel a certain euphoria when I've completed a book and look forward to feeling it again. So I work and I get better and I work some more. Feels healthy to me.
Anonymous says
A balanced life makes for a better, balanced writer. Where else can you get all your ideas for plots, characters, dialogue, etc? Frankly, I get bored sitting alone for hours so I don't write enough, but when I'm on a roll and excited, I can make progress.
If I don't force myself to write, it can still be fun.
Diamond says
I teach in the field of adult education and run a creative writing workshop for people with mental disabilities. Also completed an MA in History last year and along the way I've had a couple of novels published and three of my plays performed on the professional stage. BUT I am not self-supporting. No way could I look after our 2 kids et al on the money I've made – either from writing and/or teaching. When people ask me how I do so much, I've always quipped: "I have a husband who supports my habit!"
I take it as read that this writing I do is an addiction. And I have a source, a supplier. Or I could see it as having a patron – my partner in the role of Lorenzo de Medici to my Michelangelo (which implies a level of wealth on his part and talent on mine that might be somewhat exaggerated; but bear with me.)
I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have him. I suspect I'd find a way to keep writing because if I don't write I'm only half alive. (I wrote long before I knew him).
But the question of encouraging EVERYbody to write? Perhaps people who do that could be seen as the enablers to the addicts, but ultimately each addict, each writer, each artist, is accountable for his/her own life decisions. Because someone tells me I can or I should write, because someone holds out the drug as I pass by, doesn't oblige me to accept it. But if I do, I need to understand it's because they're offering something I want (or saying words I really want to hear about my'talent' or 'ability' etc.) So ultimately it's nobody's responsibility – and certainly nobody's fault – but my own.
Colette says
Well I may sound like a broken record. Yesterday I said it wasn't just writers and artists that can be sensitive. Today I'm here to tell you that writers and artists aren't the only careers where not everyone makes it. Writers and artists aren't the only ones who are workaholics and eat beans and lose their wives and families. Every industry has a pyramid where only a few reach the top. As a cross-over who spend many years in the corporate world, I can tell you — without reservation — there are people who feel this way everywhere.