1. Novelist.
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2. It’s not hard to become a novelist.
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3. All you have to do is write a novel.
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4. All you have to do is write a novel.
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5. All you have to do is finish a novel.
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6. First, I was just a kid who liked to write.
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7. So I went to a university that had an undergraduate
creative writing program.
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8. And I won writing awards.
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9. I was going to write
THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL.
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10. By the time I was 25.
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11. But then, I graduated.
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12. And I never wrote again.
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13. And let me say,
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14. That happens all the time.
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15. Because suddenly you’re out of school and
nobody is waiting for you to write.
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16. Nobody.
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17. So I got a job.
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18. And I was good at it.
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19. So I did it for 15 years.
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20. But I wanted to write.
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21. So I read.
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22. And read.
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23. And I read.
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24. And then I bought a desk.
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25. And sat down.
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26. And.
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27. Nothing.
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28. I had no clue how to write a book.
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29. Because as a young writer, I wrote beautiful sentences.
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30. And I started stories all the time.
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31. But I had no idea how to keep going.
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32. I had no idea how to write a story that was startling.
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33. And satisfying.
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34. So I took classes. I studied with writers.
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35. And I volunteered at 826 Valencia,
where got to know other writers.
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36. I went to graduate school.
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37. And I started a story about a girl who
was looking for a family.
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38. I really wanted to know what would happen to her.
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39. So I kept writing.
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40. And writing.
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41. And
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42. After three and a half years,
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43. I finished it.
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44. (Finishing is very important.)
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45. When the book was finished, I got a literary agent.
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46. The agent sold the novel to a publisher.
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47. The publisher turned the manuscript into a book.
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48. The book is now sold in bookstores.
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49. And available in public and high school libraries.
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50. So readers can buy it or check it out.
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51. And they do.
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52. And that’s kind of amazing.
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53. So, to recap.
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54. I became a writer by writing.
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55. And reading.
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56. And studying.
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57. And
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58. (and this is the secret)
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59. Finishing.
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60. If you want to write a book,
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61. You have to finish it.
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62. No matter how long it takes.
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63. So, if you want to be a writer, you can
study writing in college.
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64. Or
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65. Study English.
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66. Or
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67. Study biology or sociology or comparative religion or
physics or history or animal science or art.
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68. Or anything really.
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69. Because there are a million paths to becoming a writer.
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70. But they all require writing.
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71. And finishing what you write.
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72. Also, there are a million ways to
make a living as a writer.
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73. And you might have to do all of them.
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74. This is how the writers I know make a living:
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75. Grants.
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76. And residencies and fellowships.
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77. And speaking. And graduate school.
And teaching or tutoring.
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78. Also commercial fishing, waitressing, investment
banking, house cleaning, internal medicine, advocacy.
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79. And sometimes from the proceeds of their books.
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80. For the past two years, I pieced together a living.
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81. From grants, a book advance, judging literary arts
festivals, teaching, fellowships, speaking and consulting
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82. You have to be comfortable with financial instability.
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83. It’s why artists have such big egos.
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84. We have to believe in ourselves even when
no one else does.
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85. But
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86. (and this is a big but)
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87. It’s worth it.
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88. So if you write. Keep writing.
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89. Share your writing.
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90. Find other writers.
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91. There are writers here:
826 Valencia
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92. And here:
YouthSpeaks and YouthRadio
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93. And here:
NanoWriMo and TILT and Rising Stars
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94. And
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95. Of course,
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96. All over the internet.
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97. Onward.
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98. Novelist
Prepared by Erica Lorraine Scheidt for Balboa High School Career Day March 20, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013