When did writng stop being a "respectable" career goal?

Question

My guess is shortly before WW2, or at least between WW1 and WW2.
Any takers?

Sorry, "writing" -- hate typos.
And I'm a writer also, not attacking them here.
Thanks all!

Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in installments, for the money.

Touche, pdooma.

Answer 1

For some, I imagine that the non-conforming life styles and deaths of Poe ( 1849) Hemingway (1961) and Hunter S.Thompson ( 2005) have done much to influence the scribe's fall from grace. Of course there are self-indulgent writers such as Henry Miller, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, and the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas to point at, among many others. Over hundreds of years, writing like many of the arts has become associated with a dissolute life style. But oh, the lovely and seductive Muse of Creativity! She can fly a person to the very pinnacle of bliss and/or fame, only to drop him on his ar@@ and go in search of a new victim. Still, spinning gold from straw is a most wonderful undertaking, one that I as a so called "eccentric" sometime writer, tackle every now and then.

Answer 2

Writing seems to be something that most people think they can do. I guess a lot of people can do it, to a point, but not in the ways that would get them noticed. While it's true that writers sometimes suffer from some type of mental or physical problem, so do people in most other professions. (Comforting to think that a psychologist would be on anti-depressants huh?) The point I'm getting at is that some of the people I know who like to write are often a little "strange". I'm a writer myself, and I think that! It's not respectable anymore because it's tough to succeed in. It has the appearance to be an easy way to make money, but those of us who have done a little research find that to be quite the contrary. I think it's a respectable goal as long as it doesn't consume an unpublished one's life to the point that is ALL they can think about or do, even going so far as to quit their job to pursue it. I couldn't tell you when writing became a sudden thrill to do, but it's something I enjoy and have since I was a kid.

Answer 3

I believe with the advent of the Internet.

This has allowed the popularization of "fan-fiction" and has allowed it to spread its evil, vile roots throughout the collective minds of the young people who might consider a career in fiction. They hear praise for their truly awful writing and think they have what it takes, only to be rejected without end. This happens all the time and soon publishers were getting thousands of submissions a year, rather than hundreds, and in turn the output of published books versus the input of submitted manuscripts shrinks and shrinks, making it look like you are more likely to be one of these eternal failures, thus the loss of respect.

Once you are published, you are respected. Oh, and self-publication, its rise in popularity has led the diminished stature of prospective authors.

Answer 4

Can't figure when it ever stopped being respectable. Perhaps you're thinking of gonzo journalism and media bias. The media in general gets slammed for this, but it only works if you're playing to a crowd.

Answer 5

I think writing is still respectable
it really depends on what sort of stuff you're writing.

For instance, I do not consider people who write romance novels or trashy teen fiction as writers. Publishers? Yes. Champions of Literature. God, no.

Answer 6

Was writing ever an acceptable career goal? Most writers throughout history were social outcasts, had mental disorders, or addictions. They wrote not for the almighty dollar (pick your currency), but for the passion of the story, as if compelled to expel it out of themselves before it drove them crazy. Those who wrote for the dollar were considered no better than sensationalists. Go back and look at the depraved lives of writers of years gone by and see that they weren't ever respectable.

Dickens was considered a sensationalist by his contemporary peers

Answer 7

according to me, it has never lost it's respect amongst the learned.
It is the illiterate or the narrow-minded or the money minded who chose to see it as a not-so-appealing career.

Writers are great! And you people simply make others forget selves and get involved in your book :-)

Hats off to all the writers.

Answer 8

I believe creative writing still is considered "respectable." As far as journalism and such I'd say by the end of WWII after Ernie Pyle died. That's just my opinion though.

Answer 9

To be honest, unless an author becomes well known I don't think writing has ever been viewed as being respectable.

Answer 10

Never. Who told you this?
Writing never lost respect ans writers never do.
Its just some idiot writers write useless things which brings them disgrace. That's all.

TW K