It's considered normal if you feel like you are being moved around like cattle. You are there to complete the background of the scene, not to be discovered. Occasionally they pull an extra to say a line, but don't count on it, it is very rare.

Keep in mind that actors are working even in between takes by staying in character and preparing for future scenes. So even though they may look like they are doing nothing and are open for a conversation, they need to have their space on set.

Extras should plan on 12 hours, but they should realize they may only be there for one hour. Extras have to be the last consideration for producers and when they are not needed they are sent home.

I guess the thing I would say most fervently is that your original impulse to write something is an impulse you should trust, and that if it doesn't work on the first draft, which it hardly ever does, the commitment to revising ought to be something you embrace really early. And to revise and revise and revise.

While they would have provided financial support if I had needed it, the greatest support my parents gave was emotional, psychological.

Back when I was in college, people used to talk about the alienation of the artist, not ever quite fitting in any place.