Because Apparently Money is, like, Important

I have a conundrum. But I feel it is a conundrum that troubles many writers. So, what better way to solve said conundrum than to blog about it?

I'm in college now, have been for what feels like twenty years but in reality has only been about three and a half (including two years PSEOP). And yet, after all these many, many, M-A-N-Y classes, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Before I got to "real college" (aka: not PSEOP) and people asked me what I wanted to do, I would grin and tell them, all proud and confident-like, that I wanted to be a writer. And they would grin and respond, all mocking and arrogant-like, "But how are you going to make money?" Well, up until last semester or so, I didn't take that question seriously. I assumed that once I became an "official author" someone would send me a machine that magically turned the pages of my novels into $100 bills. But alas, dreams get smashed, reality sets in, and I discovered that in Real World, novels don't magically turn into $100 bills. Not even into $50 bills.

So, here's the conundrum posed as a question to all: How do you make money? Do you have a side career? Do you freelance it? Do you have a loving and patient spouse who brings home the bacon while you face your imagination? (That kind of rhymed...) Or are you one of those "starving artist" types who is okay with being scoffed at by those high-and-mighty business folk who can actually afford health care? Psh. Who really needs health care?

Basically, I'm looking for someone to tell me what to do with my life. Seriously. How can a writer make a living in a way that doesn't make her want to stick something hot and sharp into her eye? Or does it just come down to accepting a job that isn't necessarily fulfilling in order to support your craft?

These are the questions that keep me awake at night.