Is Journalism for me?

Question

I found out recently that I might be Bi polar, which explains the suffering I went through for the past many years. I am an extremely quiet person, but I do make an effort to interact with people, but no one seems to want me for a friend. That's no big deal for me. What I was wondering was, if someone with my personality could possibly be a writer. If you want to see a sample, you can view another question that I posted regarding a poem I wrote. I know it's not all that, but it's honesty the first real poem I ever wrote. I wrote it because I was feeling really down. Most of my other writing is in essay forms. I love the idea of being a film writer. I enjoy watching movies more than anything else in this world. I am currently in school doing accounting, it's not hard, but so d**n boring. I can't imagine it as a career. I am planning to switch to Journalism, but would that be a wise choice? Could some one with my personality get into journalism? If not what other suggestions do you hve?

Answer 1

As ar as writing goes, journalism is one of the highest-stress forms of the craft that you can undertake. Not only must you be able to write well under deadline pressure, with an editor literally or figuratively breathing down your neck, you'll find your words being parsed by every chucklehead who ever wrote a laundry list. They'll be looking for any slight, real or imagined, and they won't be shy about telling you about it.

Then there's the pay, which is really rather inconsequential, given all that you must endure.

Still, if you're like me, you'd rather give up oxygen than words. During my time in journalism, I don't think I was ever the best reporter in the house, but I was generally acknowledged to be a superior writer

Journalism could be for you, but there are other forms that might suit you better. At your age, there are no doors that are barred to you. y developing soime expertise in another area, you could wind up with a speciality beat. Or maybe you could help whip other journalists' prose into shape as an editor.

Good luck with your writing, no matter what path your career takes.

Answer 2

This is a tough one without knowing you personally. Journalism is not for everyone, and it's not just writing. One of the aspects of reporting is that you have to be a bit impolite at times, and ask people to make public statements when they might prefer to keep quiet. And that's not to include the facts that the pay is low (relatively speaking) and the hours can be odd. It's also about a lot more than the writing.

I wouldn't get out of accounting at this point, but try doing some writing of various types. Want to try writing a movie script? There are plenty of how-to books out there. Start a blog, and see if you can come up with good material. In other words, stick your toe in a few different pools and see how you like it.

As for personality, do the best you can to treat people well every day. As the Beatles said, the love you take is equal to the love you make.