Of course, I'd be here anyway, even if I didn't write. But I would be far more lost than I already am. When I say that I am a writer, I usually mean a writer of fiction. Of all the art forms I have explored fiction writing gives me the clearest opportunity to resolve a world which is too big and too complicated to be understood in its entirety by anyone. The human ego is a formidable impediment to clear thinking.
Some writers become famous from their efforts at writing.
Some even make a good living at it. But success of this sort doesn't often happen, and when it does, it doesn't often do one's art any good. But there are those who persevere, take chances and keep searching out new forms even after they have become famous and could easily coast out the rest of their careers. Some like J.D. Salinger even stop publishing altogether to preserve the purity of their vision by removing the audience completely. Not being either rich or famous, I can only speculate on how I might react to sudden success.