ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on aspirants, novices, to a broader consideration of creatives' discursive constructions of their career trajectories and prospects. A creative who had initially rejected engaging in commercial work may come to present it as being as a necessary or 'realistic' proposition, as a consequence of changes in their financial circumstances, and also because at a certain age conventional markers of success may become more salient. In addition, it was evident that the portfolio career can pose challenges around claiming a creative identification. The valued meanings associated with being a creative are inextricably bound up with notions of the intense pursuit of ideas or interests over time. One key pathway which is constructed is the big break narrative which implies the possibility of success at an undetermined future date. One implication of this pathway is that sustained hard work is needed over an indefinite and extended period of time.
