How hard is it to be a writer?

Answer 1

I think R.A. Salvatore (the guy who writes the Drizzt stories) said it pretty good: If you can quit writing, do it. If you can't quit, then you're a writer. Writing can be a lonely, difficult profession - you have to sit for long hours and type or write; you have deadlines you have to meet; you have to give up some of your social time in order to get those words down on paper (or computer) - it can be pretty hard. On the other hand, if you are a writer, you're not going to be able to quit doing it, so why worry about whether it's hard or not? If writing is hard enough to make you quit doing it, then you weren't a writer - maybe you just had an idea that wanted to be written, or a poem inside your head, but you're not in it for the long haul.