Tanakh said:
Get good at something you have a drive for, like REALLY GOOD, then find a way to monetize.
There, problem solved, though most of the things you have drive for might require balls to commit to, as they are probably not easy to monetize for, in which case, get some.
PD: Forgot to add, if nothing at all motivates you then you almost certainly have a psychological issue, consult a professional then.
I find this post hilarious. Like, if I was trying to come up with advice that an out-of-touch one-percenter might give someone, I
wish I could think up something as thoroughly smug and unhelpful as that. "Oh, you have no interests? Well, grow some balls and
get an interest, and then monetise it. Or see a therapist. Whatever. #Winning"
IamLEAM1983 said:
The worst thing that could ever happen is for you to be stuck with an excessively lucrative position you utterly loathe.
Hah, I can think of far worse things that could happen to you than making lots of money. Unless your job literally involves being tortured, you're in a better position than most. If high-paying jobs were easy and fun, they wouldn't be high-paying.
AnthrSolidSnake said:
I'm in the exact same situation. I graduated high school, am now 20, and have no real job. My passion is to become a writer, "professionally", but my entire life has consisted of "That's not a real job." or "You will need to get a real job first." or "Chances are you won't be successful."
First off, your friends and family and teachers aren't in the literature industry; they don't know shit. Becoming a writer in this day and age is very different from how random people imagine it. For example, you have a big advantage in that you know how to use the Internet. Start a blog, read other writer's/editor's/publisher's blogs and comment on them and get involved in the writing/publishing community. With a bit of effort, you'll get your name out there, even without having written a book. If your blog posts are interesting, you'll start to build a "platform." This will put you ahead of 99% of the other bozos since publishers are more likely to recognise your name, and they
love it when writers already have the beginnings of a fanbase; means more sales for less advertising cost. Also, reading all the blog posts and articles will teach you a lot about modern writing.
Then write. And re-write, and edit, and find people to critique it, then re-write again. Once you have a polished novel, shop it around to those publishers you've been following. You'll know which ones are likely to want your book, since you've been reading their posts, and you can appeal to exactly what they want. This puts you ahead of 99.999% of everyone else, so that really you're only competing with a handful of other in-the-know aspiring authors. Suddenly, if your novel is decent, your chances are pretty damn good.
This is the "secret" of how "mediocre" books like Twilight get published. Publishers are out there, telling you what they want to see, you just have to listen. They're desperate for good writers, it's just 99.999% of them are off doing their own thing, expecting to succeed without a shred of research into how to write professionally. Then they complain that "it's all down to luck," which is has attained almost mythic status. It's not about luck, it's about knowing exactly what you're doing! It's the difference between taking a shot in the dark wearing a blindfold, and using a high-precision sniper rifle.
