I was raised Church of Scotland and my dad was an atheist. He writes for only two months every year, usually in the winter, alternating between mainstream and science fiction. So any stories you hear about Spiderman outfits, abseiling, police detention or a career as an international jewel thief can probably be instantly dismissed. You're talking to somebody who thought the way to make the world a better place was to become a journalist. I think it depends on what kind of person you are.
Some people are just selfish and out for themselves.
If you don't like them, feel free to ignore them, but at least they're in the public gaze. I guess that any writer or journalist is trying to open the world up for inspection. The Culture was around for a long time before I started writing about it so, in a sense it hasn't evolved too much, the basis of it, the thought behind it has been very similar over the years, it's only details that really evolve. Iain Bankshas achieved success at a reasonable age. Though he started writing at 14 and completed his first novel at 16.