My English professor sorted through a stack of books on his desk in his poorly-lit office, searching for an anthology that had a story he wanted me to read. We were meeting to discuss my creative writing, but as my time at college was coming to a close, he asked the question I looked forward to but also dreaded. “Have you thought about what you want to do after college?”
I sat straight up in the hard back chair. “I want to write,” I told him. I opened my mouth to say more, but before I could, he stopped sorting, brushed the white hair out of his eyes, and looked at me through his bottle-glass frames.
“No. No, you don’t want that.”
My chest tightened, my hopes feeling dashed. Was he talking about my ability as a writer? Did he not believe I could make it as a writer based on the stories I’d written for his creative writing class? Or the essays I’d done for his literature courses?
Before I could speak up in my defense — although, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure how to respond — he clarified. “Don’t make writing your living otherwise you may run out of words. You’ll tap the well dry.” Shortly after that, he found the book and paged to an Alice Munro story he wanted me to read. Our convo about my “future career” was over, but for years I turned his writing advice over and over in my head.
My career since has been marked by a series of odd jobs as I attempted to find my footing, although many jobs I took related to writing in some shape or another; even so, his words were always at the back of the mind.
It took me over a decade to actually put his words in perspective. In one sense, I understood where he was coming from. In another, I totally disagree. Let me explain…
How His Writing Advice Helped My Creative Writing
It was the best advice I could receive in terms of my creative writing, because it’s been my experiences — my odd jobs, the people I’ve met, my travels — that have encouraged my writing. If I worked in a strictly writing-only environment, there would have been so much that I would have missed out on.
But it was also the worst advice in the sense that I will never ever run out of words. In fact, the more I write, the more the words flow. That goes for my professional freelance work, as well as my (for now) personal creative work. My well of words will never run dry.
It’s funny that a professor of literature, one that taught words and stories for a living, would offer this bit of “wisdom,” but I’m thankful for it too. It was at once the best and worst writing advice I’ve ever received.
What’s the best and/or worst writing tip you’ve ever had?
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