"I was not encouraged to follow the career of a writer because my parents thought that I was going to..."

“I was not encouraged to follow the career of a writer because my parents thought that I was going to starve to death. They thought nobody can make a living from being a writer in Brazil. They were not wrong.”

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Paulo Coelho

No, dear. You can’t live off of your writing in Brazil because everyone back home knows you’re a phony. There’s plenty of people able to make a living off of being writers in Brazil. In fact, according to my mom (who’s a writer/poet/lexicographer/editor/journalist who has won the highest national award for writing), it’s easier than in North America, because the competition isn’t as fierce.