on why not to aspire to become a great writer*

New York interview with Frank McCourt:

If you were to meet a young man like yourself, would you have any words of advice?
I’d say, “Go find somebody you can talk to.” A wise man or woman. We’re all looking for the father figure—Telemachus and Odysseus all over again. I had nobody.

Would you have become a writer if you had?
Probably not. It would have made me more mellow. As it was, I was ill-adjusted. And that makes for a story. So thank God for making me miserable.

*Frank McCourt's words are not so much enlightening, since it's well established that to be a great writer you have to have problems, as they are interesting in that he's thankful for his miserable years while suggesting that others go find someone to talk to as to avoid his misery.