[plainnoodles]

The problem is that the author probably likes manhattan for various reasons that you can't just move outside of manhattan, like:

- family nearby

- friends nearby

- as a consequence of the above two: support network is in manhattan

- enjoying the local parks/scene/etc

I grew up in <midwest plains city> and then moved to <rival midwest plains city> for a long while after college, eventually moving back to my home city because that's where all my family was.

It was a hard move in both directions and all things considered, I didn't even move that far. In city B, I missed my family and the stuff there was to do in city A. But after moving back, I now miss a lot of the things we did in B. And I don't even consider myself to be someone to particularly likes leaving my house!

Advice that tells people to "just move" is pretty shortsighted, I think. I really doubt OP moved to manhattan just to be able to be snooty about living in an expensive city, or something, which is honestly how I kind of read these kinds of advice - though it's probably not a very charitable read of your argument, for which I apologize.

[buscoquadnary]

Ah so now it's transformed from I want to be a writer to I want to be a writer in Manhattan specifically, and I'm sure there are a lot of other caveats.

Do you want me to tell you about someone who really has a passion for writing. Brandon Sanderson, he loved writing so much that in college he got a job at a desk clerk at a hotel at night just so he could write more. He writes "novellas" on his flights for fun just because he can, during COVID he wrote 4 more novels just for funsies to deal with the anxiety.

A lot of people say they have a passion what they have is an interest. Anyone who has a real honest to God burning passion is going to be doing it regardless of anything else just because they love it.

Alot of people think they have a passion but really they just kind of like the idea doing something that seems easier.

[allenu]

> A lot of people say they have a passion what they have is an interest. Anyone who has a real honest to God burning passion is going to be doing it regardless of anything else just because they love it.

This reminds me of a part of a Ken Robinson talk (maybe it's a TED Talk), where he describes talking to a friend after a musical performance. He tells his friend, "I'd love to be able to do what you do on the stage." And his friends basically tells him, "No, you don't. If you wanted to do what I do, you'd be practicing on your guitar daily. What you want is the praise and benefits of the hard work. You don't actually want to do what I do."

[AlotOfReading]

This whole "you aren't a real <x> unless you suffer through <y>" is just as unhealthy for authors as it is for programmers. Just because someone isn't grinding out leetcode on their lunchbreak or novellas on flights doesn't mean they don't have a genuine love and passion for the underlying art. Sanderson is an exceptional author, emphasis on exceptional. Most people would burn out at the pace he sets.

[projectazorian]

A lot of people in creative fields thrive off the presence of other creatives around them with whom they can discuss ideas, etc. NYC is hard to beat for that. You're also likely to come across more opportunities to get your work published if you live in one of the centers of the global publishing industry.

People choose to live in NYC for reasons other than narcissism or lifestyle amenities - for many creative fields (especially anything "high culture") it is objectively the best, sometimes the only, place to be if you want to develop your career.

And I'm sorry but if quantity written had any relevance on one's seriousness as an author then Stephen King would be the greatest English-language author of all time.

[dataflow]

> A lot of people say they have a passion what they have is an interest. Anyone who has a real honest to God burning passion is going to be doing it regardless of anything else just because they love it.

You're confusing "would you be pursuing that passion regardless of other factors" with "would/should you sacrifice other aspects of your life if you could still follow that one passion".

It's not about the circumstances under which you're willing to still follow your passion. It's about what sacrifices you're willing to make in your life, regardless of your passion. e.g., you might be willing to go to prison or live in a dumpster and still love writing books so much that you'd continue doing that, but your love for writing books doesn't imply you should be willing to go live in a dumpster. The other factors still matter in your life. They just won't get in the way of you writing, is all.

[the_watcher]

The author lives in Austin. He used to live in Manhattan.