Another twofer - love it when two related questions come in at once.
ViridianCrystal's question is the headliner question, and regular reader and commenter Nikitamaagel's question is:
"MM, this is something I've been wondering for a while. How am I supposed to follow my dreams when I have a full time job (which is only vaguely related to what I really want to do)? I feel guilty when I don't do anything towards my goals, but I have no time or energy. Catch 22?"
Viridian first.
Have you ever read Ender's Game? If so, you'll know what I am referencing, but if not, to summarize: Ender Wiggin is the titular hero - a young boy. While he is training to become the general to defeat an alien species, his elder brother and sister set out to take over and dominate the political situation on Earth. As Peter points out, "On the net, no one knows your age."
I personally know three people who were writing - and getting paid for it - before their 15th birthday. I am pretty sure one, at least, had articles running before he turned 14.
The market is there. A huge number of sites need content every day. Find open submission sites, read them well to see what they are after, then drop a couple of articles in to the editor.
At the same time, start a blog and keep it going regularly. You need to get a portfolio going as fast as you can. Do NOT stick to one form. Sure, you may prefer working sci fi, or horror, but do not neglect factual pieces, or romance or commentary. It takes time, and you will get more rejections than acceptances, but it is doable. Just remember that rejections are never personal, and should not be seen as such.
The time aspect leads me to Nikitamaagel:
Time is a killer. Since your current job is slightly related to what you want to do, can you slowly shift until it is closer to what you dream of? That is how most people seem to do it - gradually make their job a better fit to their personality. Of course, you get the insanely brave ones that drop everything else to follow their dream, no matter the cost. Some succeed. Most get very hungry, very fast.
For many of us, the equation boils down to which is more important. Sleep or dreams. I get up at 4 AM to write, then at around 6 AM I start the days work, which finishes about 10 PM when I fall into bed. You may not be able to do that, but if you look at your life closely, you will find dead time. Time you can use to work towards your goals.
I don't know what your dreams are, but I know achieving them takes hard work and sacrifice regardless. Anything worth while does.
And that, ViridianCrystal, is why I paired your question with Nikita's. Time disappears as you get older, so do it now.
Thanks MM. You're right. Time disappears as you get older... Because responsabilities pile up. Which is why I'm not planning on having kids before I'm 35 (only half kidding here).
i am a full time writer, with two decades plus on your age, and have been writing since i could pick up a pencil. if you know that's what you love, it's not what you do, it's who you are. why wait 4-6 years to be who you are? where did you even get that anyway? Jo in Little Women, albeit a fictional character, was writing long before your age. ernest hemingway was too. for a more contemporary figure for you, eminem was as well. he kept a shoe box of pieces of scrap paper with scribbling on it that anderson cooper likened to rantings out of an insane asylum. he has kept that box and uses those scribblings for his songs today, that as you know, garner a huge audience. i have a speech i am preparing for writers, and am using both ernest hemingway and eminem in the speech, along with my favorite acronym of all time. F.E.A.R. -- False, Evidence, Appearing, Real. the things we fear don't actually exist. we make it up in our head, most of it. okay, sometimes the stuff that we worry about actually happens, but most of the time it doesn't. you are fearing rejection. rejection in this business happens. it's part of the job. learn from it, fearing it will prevent you from growing. and from writing. which would be a tragedy.
i was listening to natasha bedingfield's "unwritten" in the car commute this morning because i have a project i really need to kick myself in the behind over, and that song usually does it for me. it's one of my life songs, go to YouTube and listen to it if you don't have it handy. 'we've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but i can't live that way.' is my favorite line. keep trying. and accept that rejection is part of this industry. (i keep saying that for a reason) this is a subjective industry where being received well is in the eye of the beholder. instead of seeing rejection as dislike, see it as an opportunity. rejection teaches you where not to market or where not to offer your work. sometimes you even get feedback with rejection, if you are lucky. take that feedback as feedback to grow, not criticism against you as a person. i know it's hard, that is something that will take practice, writing is personal, when it is rejected it is easy to take it personally. yes, i still have to practice the art of handling rejection myself every day. it's part of the job description. if you can't handle that, you are not cut out for it. the earlier you learn that, the easier your career will be. knowing how to handle it well now will pay off in spades in the future. Stephen King has a whole book of rejection letters himself. everybody does. oh and, i got my first byline when i was 15 and that was well before the Internet even existed. it was a weekly column in an actual newspaper that people actually read. i didn't have a computer back then, and email wasn't even invented yet. i had to write my column, on paper, and actually drop it off to the editor once a week 10 miles from my house in the country without a driver's license, on a deadline, if i wanted it printed and wanted to keep my byline. oh good god, i'm starting to sound like my grandmother and her stories i can't even believe that, but obviously there is a method to my madness. today it's a bit easier, but you still have to work the dream and pound the pavement if you really want it. and it's worth the chase if you love writing. like MM said, build a portfolio, then start asking people if you can write for them. and get a thick skin. some people won't like you, who cares. somebody will. if you are as good as you say you are, the world wants to hear you. not putting it out there means the world is missing out. on you! this has gone on longer than i intended, sorry for blathering, i get sad when i see writers putting limitations on themselves. that's the best part about this business, there are no limitations, meaning, the only thing stopping you is you.
nikita!! there is nothing i could add beyond MM's wisdom, time disappears as you get older. yep. like sands through an hourglass. 20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do, than by the things you did do (mark twain) i love that line MM said, "sleep or dreams" that should go on a bumper sticker. sail away from the safe harbor honey, you can have it all, IF you're willing to work for it. good luck!!
You know, I felt like the answer was going be along these lines, but i guess i still trying to hold on to my lazy, do-nothing teenage life. However, something about the way you worded it makes it stand out more than the well known phrase. Thanks.
I know a lot of teens.
They ain't lazy. Nor are you.