Writing tops the list of dream jobs, according to a new poll.
A YouGov poll has found that almost 10% of Britons aspire to being an author, followed by sports personality, pilot, astronaut and event organiser on the list of most coveted jobs.
The news sparks this grumpy blog post from John Crace, who more or less tells people writing’s a miserable job, and you almost certainly can’t do it, and if you work to improve your skills by taking a creative writing course, everybody will know you truly suck, and they’ll probably laugh and point at you in the street.
For while a creative writing course might teach you a little about structure, characterisation and dialogue, it won’t teach you a thing about creativity. As a reader, I reckon I can almost always tell which writers have come through a creative writing course. Because they are the ones whose work is dry, lifeless and formulaic.
So don’t even bother to try - got that? What’s the real message (or as writers have it, the subtext) in Crace’s post? Hey, wannabes - go back to your day jobs and stop competing with us folks who are getting paid to write for The Guardian.
But the desire to write can be overwhelming. That’s why some of us persevere for years to learn how to do it well enough to seek publication, and why we take rejection - over and over - and keep working at our craft until we finally do see our work in print.
Writing, despite all its uncertainties, is my dream job. That’s why I have my writing tiara on my desk. It’s the “Happy Mermaid Toy Pack” tiara, and it’s glued together from actual sequins.
7 responses so far ↓
Cheeky // August 23, 2007 at 11:37 am
Question: How do you tell the difference between a typo and a grammatical error?
Patti // August 23, 2007 at 5:15 pm
I think it’s a typo if you do it once and a grammatical error if the problem persists. That’s not to say that a typo can’t create a grammatical error, though.
Meg // August 23, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Us thinks Cheeky is bein’ a monkey. I can has whatever blog title I wants.
djpaterson // August 23, 2007 at 6:25 pm
I’m afraid I’m one of the massed hordes who dream of being a writer (or at least dream of not having to set the alarm for 6.15am tomorrow). Is there a growing trend of professional writers who actively discourage others, I wonder? This certainly isn’t the first article of this nature I’ve seen, and probably won’t be the last.
Most people who put pen to paper will never achieve that dream of recognition - however that won’t stop most of us. I think the only question that remains in my mind is that do I need to be published before buying my writing tiara, or is that the path to success?
And do you think scotch tape would hold one in place?
Meg // August 24, 2007 at 8:35 am
Blu-Tack works, DJ. But frankly, for guys I think a Zulu headdress is the way to go.
Patti // August 24, 2007 at 1:41 pm
DJ, I wonder if the professional writer discouraging others is along the same lines as professors (including me) giving students many reasons for not being academics. Most who express interest don’t have a clear idea of what it’s like, especially the grad school and actually getting a job parts. If after my “it’s not all leather elbow patches and free time and forget 9 to 5″ speech they still want to do it, then I’m all encouragement. If it really is someone else’s dream job too, I’ll help them get there.
djpaterson // August 25, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Patti - I totally agree that many people have no idea of the reality of their dream. I know that whilst it would be great to make it as a writer myself, I realise the dream will probably remain a dream. Not that I won’t try though - I am in the fortunate position of being able to work part-time, which (in theory) gives me risk-free time to devote to my hobby.
Meg - mmm… Zulu headdress, now there’s an idea…
Leave a Comment