The cheeseman

I've always wanted to be a writer.

So why is it that every time I sit down to write the actual prose or whenever I have my notebook out and am frantically writing down an idea before it's forgotten, my mother says something along the lines of "Writing doesn't make any money" or "If you don't have woke cover characters--" (which I could not care less about, by the way. My characters are individuals with their own beliefs, emotions, and choices, I am not their puppet master, thank you very much) "--you won't get published" or the most-dreaded "what are you writing?"

And when I give a non-answer (because if she's never shown any interest in what I read, why the hell would she show any in what I write - seeing as they're pretty much the same thing) she gives me a look like "what do you have to hide?" No, mom, I'm not writing Fifty Shades of Gray, I'm not writing Game of Thrones, I'm not writing Twilight, I'm writing my own book.

I'm not copying someone else's work, I'm not trying to be a writer that I'm not, I have so much in my head that if I don't get it out I'm going to lose my mind. I have to write this down or it will be the end of me. It is my escape from the real world to one that is the product of my beliefs, thoughts, memories, hopes, dreams, and nightmares.

Originally, my college plan was to major in English or creative writing and minor in history. When I relayed as much to my mother, she - without hesitation - said that "writers don't make very much money" and "you should really do something more practical" and "I think your brain is more suited engineering"

What

The

[Word that would get my ban-hammered]

And because of that happening over and over I have abandoned my plan of getting an arts degree because I know that my mother - my dad grew up a total nerd and still is one, I have his 1st edition copy of The Silmarillion - would be if not utterly then quite disappointed.

I know that writers don't make a lot of money, I know that big publishers are more likely to put my book out if I have "woke" characters, I know ALL OF THIS, AND I DON'T CARE!

I AM - AND WILL ALWAYS BE - A WRITER!