Lessons From Legends
I read an article about the 19th century English Poet John Keats, who died of tuberculosis at age 25. He’d had a traumatic childhood—his father dying when he was 8, his mother remarrying then abandoning him and his siblings before she, too died when he was 14. Later, his guardian, who mismanaged his money, apprenticed him to a physician. Keats did well in medicine, but he’d started to write poetry by this time. It is no surprise to us writers, that, despite the potential for a steady, respected profession, Keats gave up medicine to focus on writing.
It didn’t go well. His first efforts at poetry were excoriated by critics, and he was as affected by that rejection as we would be. Still, despite his dire financial situation and failing health, here persevered.
He died when he was 25.
He didn’t become a literary icon until long after that.
It’s common for us to look at the legends and say, they, too, struggled, but look what happened! The resulting, Then it could happen to me! is often what gives us hope.
I’m not saying give up hope, nor am I saying Keats made the wrong choices, but consider the consequences. It’s okay not to want to be poor, sick and lonely. If you want to write only a few hours a month, but you’re enjoying your life in the meantime? Go for it. If you want to take the financial risk? Go for it.
Keats’s story is his own. Make your story your own.