Is it the right thing to help support a writer whose writing doesn't support himself? A writer I respect a lot recently fell ill, and now he has a chronic condition that will require some unexpected expenses. This author does not have health insurance, and now lots of well-meaning writers are rallying to his aid, soliciting donations and organizing auctions.

As I said, I like this author quite a bit, and I hope the best for him. I don't want to seem like a grinch, but I have to question some of his life decisions. He chose to be a full-time writer, and to a nobody like me he seemed very successful at it, but apparently that did not generate enough income for him to afford insurance. Surely a situation like this is intolerable to many (most?) of us.

I support a family and do not have the option of going full-time with my writing -- my family depends too much on my steady day-job income, health insurance, and retirement benefits for me to just chuck it and take my chances as a full-time writer. I'd have to make a lot more money at my writing to even consider giving up the day job, no matter how much I'd like to. That's just common sense.

But this author chose the writing life and went bareback on insurance. How could he, in good conscience, not have health insurance? He's married, by the way, so his decision affects more than just himself. If his writing wasn't paying enough for him to buy the insurance, then shouldn't he have taken some sort of job that offered benefits? Lots of writers manage to keep both a writing career and a day job, so it's not like it's an either-or proposition. Maybe he's one of those hopeless types who couldn't see himself doing anything else but writing.

I'd like to be more sympathetic, but when I consider my own situation, it seems more selfish to take the starving artist route and then plead poverty when the shit hits the fan. No doubt I'm making myself look like an insensitive lout. Actually, I'm very sensitive -- to the needs of my family and my own health -- which is why I'll keep the day job, and relegate the writing career to part-time status. Those are my priorities.