A young letter writer with a passion for both music and fiction is trying to choose between them. 

Enjoy them both, says our elder. You have plenty of time to figure out a career.

 

Dear EWC

Hi, I’m pretty young (14) but I have a lot of big dreams. In particular, the one thing I wanna do more than anything is music. It’s always been my passion, and the thought of making a career out of anything else makes me worried for my own happiness. At the same time, I’m also a fiction writer, and I would love to be able to educate people on why writing isn’t as boring as their English teacher makes it sound like. But if I do that, that’s what I’ll be known for and there’s a chance it’ll destroy my dream of being a musician. How can I balance both of these without worrying if I won’t be able to do the one thing I really truly want to do in life? The thought of choosing one sounds like it’ll make for a horrifically boring life.

 

Granny-Nora replies

You can certainly have more than one dream. I always wanted to be a writer, but life happened, and I entered a different field. I learned so much and had so many experiences while working and while I was raising my family, that it gave me lots of things to write about when I retired that I would never have dreamed about in my early years.

Go ahead and pursue both music and writing if you enjoy both. If you find that one takes more time and energy than you can put into it in your youth, put one of them aside for later in life. You have a long life ahead of you.

One word of caution: It is almost impossible for new authors to get published. Self-publishing is an option, but you will need to hire a good editor, and you will need to have good technical skills. If you plan to someday get married and have a family, be aware that writing probably will not support your family. You will need to have an alternate career, and write in your spare time. I suspect the same might be true of a musical career unless you are extremely good.

At 14, you are in a good position to enjoy both music and writing for a while until you have a better idea of what you want to do. Take your time to make that decision. Both music and writing are to be enjoyed. Both will bring peace to your life. Good luck!

Article #: 406651

Category: Career