Writers have no real life?

Question

I'm thinking of giving up writing fanfic and original work because I feel the time and effort robs me of real life experiences. I might churn out beautiful dialogue and pretty stories but what's the point...none of it is real.
I don't want to live inside my head.
Am I making the right decision..?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Writers who don't have a life will quickly run out of things to write about. Real experiences are the fuel that keeps a writer going. It's a total myth that writers are just reclusive hermits. Real writers visit new places, talk to people, and often explore new places more than normal people do.

Answer 2

I always thought that writing books was a way for someone to express themselves and tell a story based on real life situations and t just basically deal with life in their own way.

Such as the Dementors in Harry Potter being based on the depression that Rowling suffered.

Stopping writing might make you eventually explode with not being able to express yourself so if it makes you happy doing it then stay doing it.

Answer 3

NO, YOU ARE NOT MAKING A GOOD DECISION!!! If you don't want to miss out on "real experiences" then write less but don't stop all together. I wouldn't write fanfic as much because that is just adding to what someone already created but original work, don't ever stop! Do what I do: Write a short or a novel and when you are done, leave it alone for months because when you do come back to it, you won't just be able to notice what mistakes you made in a better light but you will have that free time to wonder around the world living new experiences that just give you more ideas for stories. You don't have to write all the time. I sure don't. But that doesn't mean you stop forever.

Answer 4

Get out there and live! But don't give up your original work, either. It will grow along with you. I'd limit the fan fiction writing to once-in-a-while, just for the fun of it. But it too can be a creative exercise that ultimately improves your writing skills. Just don't make it ALL you write, because that can be limiting. All successful authors have a real life. If they didn't, they wouldn't have anything to write about, and we would find their work extremely boring.

Answer 5

Writing is a great way to live out the life you wish you had. Don't live your books, let your books live you. Just don't spend all the time writing. Live life and incorporate things that happen to you and edit them to make them more interesting! So don't stop writing just write a little less.

Answer 6

But life experience is what makes a writer's writing great. Without it your work would seem forced and unrealistic. It's not right to think all writers live in isolation from the real world.