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Comment by buscoquadnary | Hacker News Reader

Ah so now it's transformed from I want to be a writer to I want to be a writer in Manhattan specifically, and I'm sure there are a lot of other caveats.

Do you want me to tell you about someone who really has a passion for writing. Brandon Sanderson, he loved writing so much that in college he got a job at a desk clerk at a hotel at night just so he could write more. He writes "novellas" on his flights for fun just because he can, during COVID he wrote 4 more novels just for funsies to deal with the anxiety.

A lot of people say they have a passion what they have is an interest. Anyone who has a real honest to God burning passion is going to be doing it regardless of anything else just because they love it.

Alot of people think they have a passion but really they just kind of like the idea doing something that seems easier.

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> A lot of people say they have a passion what they have is an interest. Anyone who has a real honest to God burning passion is going to be doing it regardless of anything else just because they love it.

This reminds me of a part of a Ken Robinson talk (maybe it's a TED Talk), where he describes talking to a friend after a musical performance. He tells his friend, "I'd love to be able to do what you do on the stage." And his friends basically tells him, "No, you don't. If you wanted to do what I do, you'd be practicing on your guitar daily. What you want is the praise and benefits of the hard work. You don't actually want to do what I do."

This whole "you aren't a real <x> unless you suffer through <y>" is just as unhealthy for authors as it is for programmers. Just because someone isn't grinding out leetcode on their lunchbreak or novellas on flights doesn't mean they don't have a genuine love and passion for the underlying art. Sanderson is an exceptional author, emphasis on exceptional. Most people would burn out at the pace he sets.

My point wasn't to say your aren't a real writer unless you write like he does it was to illustrate what a real love and burning passion is.

A lot of us here think we would love to but physicists as it is all so interesting but we can't because of our jobs. The greatest physicist since Newton couldn't get a job as a physicist but loved it so much that he spent any spare time he had working on it and thinking about it and obsessing over it.

If you really actually love something you'll find a way to do it, otherwise it's a hobby. Hobbies are good there is nothing wrong with it. But if you really feel a burning desire to do something you'd do it regardless of finances and time because you won't be able to stop yourself from doing it.

Speaking from personal experience, that's not true. I truly loved being an archaeologist, but I also enjoy the creature comforts of bathing, housing, and having access to the basic institutions of society like voting or dating. Pursuing one effectively meant giving up the others, so I returned to my more moderate (and financially rewarding) love of tech.

I agree with you to some extent.

There are exceptions like your examples. There are probably others who do have strong passions where they obsess over their art and still want to move to a place where other artist like themselves are.

That's probably why Paris was the place to be if you were an aspiring impressionist painter in the 19th century. Renoir, Monet, etc probably were passionate about their art. And being in close proximity probably helped each other in positive ways.

A lot of people in creative fields thrive off the presence of other creatives around them with whom they can discuss ideas, etc. NYC is hard to beat for that. You're also likely to come across more opportunities to get your work published if you live in one of the centers of the global publishing industry.

People choose to live in NYC for reasons other than narcissism or lifestyle amenities - for many creative fields (especially anything "high culture") it is objectively the best, sometimes the only, place to be if you want to develop your career.

And I'm sorry but if quantity written had any relevance on one's seriousness as an author then Stephen King would be the greatest English-language author of all time.

> And I'm sorry but if quantity written had any relevance on one's seriousness as an author then Stephen King would be the greatest English-language author of all time.

While I would never reach for that kind of superlative, and I definitely don't think it's related to quantity written, I do think Stephen King is an exceptionally good English-language author.

For what it’s worth I agree…he’s underrated, although he seems to be getting more respect these days. But he could have benefited from more editing when he was in his prime.

Edit: Still not the best of all time or even in the top 100. But I’d be hard pressed to name a better American author with his level of mass market appeal.

You're confusing "would you be pursuing that passion regardless of other factors" with "would/should you sacrifice other aspects of your life if you could still follow that one passion".

It's not about the circumstances under which you're willing to still follow your passion. It's about what sacrifices you're willing to make in your life, regardless of your passion. e.g., you might be willing to go to prison or live in a dumpster and still love writing books so much that you'd continue doing that, but your love for writing books doesn't imply you should be willing to go live in a dumpster. The other factors still matter in your life. They just won't get in the way of you writing, is all.

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