I feel an overwhelming sensation to be a full time writer? Why? The first reason is because it is my dream job. I want to write stories and make a living off of them. But in addition to the obvious career goal, I want the schedule it would allow me to have. I would be able to do the things I wanted to do with my day instead of being forced to work in an office for 40 hours a week. It would let me devote my time to the projects or endeavors I really want to do.

The main problem I have currently is finances. My life situation does not allow for me to exist as a full time writer because if I tried to do that with my writing career where it is now, I would find myself without a place to live within a month. I need to work to pay the rent and bills and buy food for my family. There’s just not another option.

I recently played through my first round of Dungeons & Dragons. Yes, it’s a nerdy thing to do, but I love it, and not just for the nerdy role-playing game side of things. A really good game of D&D has a strong story with good characters. Yes, the battles are fun and it’s cool to see how people use their abilities and problem solve in the moment, but there is an element of story behind every character, no matter how small. When thinking about D&D, I really want to look at being able to become a dungeon master because it would involve some heavy story writing components.

I want to write stories. That’s all I want to do. I want the freedom to do it when I want, wherever I want. So much so that I recklessly consider leaving my job to do it. The only thing that stops me is the fact that I have family depending on me to be at my job in order for us to live, but I hate that I have to have that kind of job right now. This weekend has been a blast, but I know that at the end of the day tomorrow (Sunday), life will have to return to the mundane, and I don’t want it to. I’m not saying that every day should be all fun or that all of life should be geared towards game and entertainment. What I am saying is that there are several things that inspire me as a writer, and far too often in life I get exposed to these things only to have to shove my writing to the side for the sake of the real world. It’s not fair. I might sound like a whiny child, but it is truly how I feel. It’s not fair that life forces so many people to put their dreams on hold because of money. How many of us are condemned to work jobs that are only mediocre or that we even hate in order to earn a paycheck so that we don’t die of starvation or lack of shelter? How much of our lives are built around “what we have to do to survive?” I realize this may be a 1st world complaint. For much of the world that question is the only question they get to answer, but even then, I repeat my statement: It’s not fair. If the world worked as it should, there would be none who were lacking because the people of this world would share the resources with complete and total altruism. If someone needed something, the people around them would look to fill the need. By taking care of each other in true love and selflessness, we could enable all the people of the world to follow their dreams instead of forcing people to live a life of desperately trying to not die.

I want to write. I want to write enough stories and sell enough copies that I can provide for my family without worry and to use vast amounts of money to help other people achieve their dreams. This is the world I wish for. When I think about the world and where it is, I think of the words of Dr. Harold Winston in Overwatch. “Always remember: Never accept the world as it appears to be. Dare to see it for what it could be.”