Most of the good writers that I know do not make a living solely from their writing, and none of them earn a living by writing short stories. Because we couldn't not write. It's the way we organize our thoughts and emotions, the way we process life and the universe. It's satisfying, if not lucrative. Writing to Communicate But lonely.
Writing is the loneliest of art forms.
An actor knows right away whether he or she has done a good job. A painter can watch the expressions on the faces of the people who look at his or her work. Musicians get energy back from each other and from the applause of their audience. But a writer works in a vacuum and then waits for a long time, sometimes forever, before finding out if the thing worked, made contact. You can go crazy this way, and the harder you work the crazier you'll get.