I have a question for you all, and it's going to sound completely idiotic I'm sure, but I feel at home here and feel like I can talk to you all about this..
To make a long story short, I'm 22 and I quit school right around the time when I only had around a month left until graduation. I was having trouble with my "senior project" which is required to complete for graduation, and it just overwhelmed me to the point where I just gave up. I was young, dumb, some of my friends had dropped out, and I decided to join them. A mistake I've regretted ever since, but I had no interest in writing at the time, or really any "job" that would require more schooling. This will be hard for many to understand but I live in the land of Coal, I had some connections through friends, and thought I'd just quit and start out a career with mining, like so many of my friends have done. Well, that didn't work out but I've had steady jobs ever since, good paying jobs that never led me to gain any interest in a GED or finishing school.
Now I always done really well in English classes, took some creative writing classes in school when I had the option of taking something else to goof off with friends. I read a lot, especially for my age, and if there is 1 quality that you need to have in order to write, that I DO have, it's the need to read a lot. I have a passion for reading like you wouldn't believe and it often consumes all of my free time, as crazy as that sounds.
It's obvious to me that without any additional schooling, there is a lot that I do not know or understand. NOT about "how to write a book" but more to do with styles of writing, language, even some of the more complicated details dealing with punctuation, etc. You know, the common basics of writing work that could fit into a book, and the more detailed complicated pieces of information on writing that most get from college courses, etc. I do read ALOT, but that may not matter. Every "professional writer" and "established" writer that I've ever heard of had plenty of school, perhaps taught school at one time, or took some kind of course in college. I've never heard of anyone who simply quit school and had success later on with writing, with basically a 12 1/2 grade education and a lot of read novels under their thumb.
I enjoy writing just for the fun of it, publication is just a bonus in my eyes, but eventually I'd like to get to the point where I at least submit some of the work, and give it a try. It seems like a roadblock for me though, and often times it is discouraging to think I'm wasting my time if I don't soon pursue a GED and then maybe some kind of extra courses..
Is college, and certain courses, pretty much a must have for anyone with dreams of future success? As you can see, I know how to spell, the simple things aren't as much of an issue as the more complicated details you learn through experience are. ..
To make a long story short, I'm 22 and I quit school right around the time when I only had around a month left until graduation. I was having trouble with my "senior project" which is required to complete for graduation, and it just overwhelmed me to the point where I just gave up. I was young, dumb, some of my friends had dropped out, and I decided to join them. A mistake I've regretted ever since, but I had no interest in writing at the time, or really any "job" that would require more schooling. This will be hard for many to understand but I live in the land of Coal, I had some connections through friends, and thought I'd just quit and start out a career with mining, like so many of my friends have done. Well, that didn't work out but I've had steady jobs ever since, good paying jobs that never led me to gain any interest in a GED or finishing school.
Now I always done really well in English classes, took some creative writing classes in school when I had the option of taking something else to goof off with friends. I read a lot, especially for my age, and if there is 1 quality that you need to have in order to write, that I DO have, it's the need to read a lot. I have a passion for reading like you wouldn't believe and it often consumes all of my free time, as crazy as that sounds.
It's obvious to me that without any additional schooling, there is a lot that I do not know or understand. NOT about "how to write a book" but more to do with styles of writing, language, even some of the more complicated details dealing with punctuation, etc. You know, the common basics of writing work that could fit into a book, and the more detailed complicated pieces of information on writing that most get from college courses, etc. I do read ALOT, but that may not matter. Every "professional writer" and "established" writer that I've ever heard of had plenty of school, perhaps taught school at one time, or took some kind of course in college. I've never heard of anyone who simply quit school and had success later on with writing, with basically a 12 1/2 grade education and a lot of read novels under their thumb.
I enjoy writing just for the fun of it, publication is just a bonus in my eyes, but eventually I'd like to get to the point where I at least submit some of the work, and give it a try. It seems like a roadblock for me though, and often times it is discouraging to think I'm wasting my time if I don't soon pursue a GED and then maybe some kind of extra courses..
Is college, and certain courses, pretty much a must have for anyone with dreams of future success? As you can see, I know how to spell, the simple things aren't as much of an issue as the more complicated details you learn through experience are. ..
