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, 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. 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. 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.
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?