A、He has been a writer for 20 years. B、He became famous overnight. C、His friends helped him when he didn’t make enough to eat. D

Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, [16] but I also explain that there’s a big difference between “being a writer” and writing. In most cases these people are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a typewriter. “You’ve got to want to write,” I say to them, “not want to be a writer.” The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune, there are thousands more whose desire is never rewarded. When I left a 20-year job in the U.S. Coast Guard to become a freelance writer, I had no hopes at all. What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. [17] It didn’t even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used typewriter and felt like a real writer. After a year or so, however, I still hadn’t gotten a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that barely made enough to eat. [18] But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn’t going to be one of those people who die wondering, What if? I would keep putting my dream to the test-even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is Shadow land of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16. What does the speaker emphasize when encouraging those who want to be a writer?
17. What do we learn about the speaker?
18. Why didn’t the speaker give up writing when he made no break at all?