> Ben Fountain did not make the decision to quit law and become a writer all by himself. He is married and has a family. [...] “When Ben first did this, we talked about the fact that it might not work, and we talked about, generally, ‘When will we know that it really isn’t working?’ and I’d say, ‘Well, give it ten years,’ ” Sharie recalled. To her, ten years didn’t seem unreasonable. “It takes a while to decide whether you like something or not,” she says. And when ten years became twelve and then fourteen and then sixteen, and the kids were off in high school, she stood by him, because, even during that long stretch when Ben had nothing published at all, she was confident that he was getting better.
Just a few months ago I read a blurb (in Scott Young's Ultralearning) about Eric Barone's 5 yr effort to build Stardew Valley. Amazing story. Imagine resisting the pressure to take "a real job" for 5 years so you can work on a game.
tompark|5 years ago
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/late-bloomers-...
> Ben Fountain did not make the decision to quit law and become a writer all by himself. He is married and has a family. [...] “When Ben first did this, we talked about the fact that it might not work, and we talked about, generally, ‘When will we know that it really isn’t working?’ and I’d say, ‘Well, give it ten years,’ ” Sharie recalled. To her, ten years didn’t seem unreasonable. “It takes a while to decide whether you like something or not,” she says. And when ten years became twelve and then fourteen and then sixteen, and the kids were off in high school, she stood by him, because, even during that long stretch when Ben had nothing published at all, she was confident that he was getting better.
Just a few months ago I read a blurb (in Scott Young's Ultralearning) about Eric Barone's 5 yr effort to build Stardew Valley. Amazing story. Imagine resisting the pressure to take "a real job" for 5 years so you can work on a game.
AnIdiotOnTheNet|5 years ago
Shit like that is generally why I don't. Like most people I'm not privileged enough to just ditch work for a decade to pursue some fanciful dream.