Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always (47) such people, but I also explain that there’s a big difference between "being a writer" and writing. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of (48) and fame, not the long hours alone at a typewriter. "You’ve got to want to write," I say to them, "not want to be a writer. " The reality is that writing is a (49) , private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never (50) . When I left a 20-year career in the US. Coast Guard to become a freelance(自由撰稿人) writer, I had no (51) at all. What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. It didn’t even matter that it was (52) and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used manual typewriter and felt like a (53) writer. After a year or so, however, I still hadn’t gotten a break and began to (54) myself It was so hard to sell a story that (55) made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn’t going to be one of those people who die wondering, what if I would keep putting my dream to the test-even though it meant living with (56) and fear of failure. This is the Shadow land of hope, and anyone with a dream should learn to live there.
Word Bank
A. barely B. genuine C. rewarded
D. doubt E. lonely F. poverty
G. persuade H) prospects I) uncertainty
J) impossibly K) encourage L) awarded
M) alone N) wealth O) cold