Passion...

Jane Friedman, famed There Are No Rules blogger and media & networking expert, has had several posts recently about talent vs. determination.  She argues that determination is more meaningful than talent, not because talent is unnecessary, but because having talent doesn't necessarily mean you'll be a great success, while determination and focus will propel you forward.

"I suspect that a few of my most talented students aren't putting in the effort required to succeed. They've succumbed to the demons of ambivalence and apathy."

That's the funny thing about talent: if it comes too easily, sometimes you neglect it, and won't pursue that activity.  It's too easy.  But if you want to succeed at that task, if you're truly passionate about the activity, you'll do whatever it takes to get there.  That's not the same as being talented.

In a separate post on her personal blog, Jane talks about the 3 Boring Elements of Success: 1) Extraordinary Focus, 2) Dedication and Consistency, and 3) Industry Awareness.  However, taking that a step further, all three of these elements come with passion for what you're doing, obsession with your chosen vocation.

If you are passionate about your job, it will be easy to find the focus and dedication to perform each and every day.  You might need a break now and again, but the itch will grow and you'll be back to it before you even realize it.  Similarly, if you love your career, you'll want to know what's going on in the industry and what trends are popping up, so that you can find your own best way of navigating that world.  You'll want to know every little detail, not because it's a required part of your work day, but because you're fascinated by the changes, events, or connections around you.

Having great talent isn't really necessary if you're willing to put in the work*.  Having great passion is required.  With that passion, the work will come easier, the 10,000 hours of practice won't be forced.  And eventually, you'll demonstrate the talent that may have appeared to be lacking in the beginning.  As Justine Musk, of Tribal Writer, says:

"Common wisdom has it that we’re passionate about the things we’re naturally good it, but it’s possible that it’s the other way around: we become “naturally” good at the things we’re truly passionate – and obsessive – about."

* Caveat: it's probably good to have some basic aptitude, but you don't need to be an idiot savant.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Last week, as I was writing on the train as usual, I had a real Ah-Ha! moment.

He escapes!  Duh!  Why didn't I think of that before?  It's so simple, so clear - undeniably the right road for my characters to follow.  It was the turn I needed to move the plot one step closer to the end of the first novel in my trilogy.  (Did I mention that I've decided my story needs to be a trilogy?  Yep, lots of work ahead of me.) 

I suddenly felt as if a tiny pin-prick of light had appeared before me in the dark tunnel that I've been imperceptibly moving through for the last...nine plus months (ouch). 

Don't get me wrong, I'm nowhere near finished.  I'm not even ready for serious critique yet.  I still have to get to the end of the story, and then I have oodles of edits waiting on the other side.  It's a pin-prick, not a beacon.  But the story has now opened up for me and I can clearly see the path ahead.  I've been muddling through the dark for so long, I'm actually anxious to get to the revision part.

I've learned a lot in 50,000 words, which will help with the revisions.  Hopefully I won't have to rewrite too much of the beginning, although I already know I need to start in a different place.  But now I'm getting ahead of myself, so I'll leave it there for the moment.  I need to get back to writing.

Butt in Chair

Last Friday, Jane Friedman quoted a bit of wisdom from writer and professor, Michael Martone:

Only 10% (if that) of writers keep at it, and because they do keep at it, they are successful and known—even if not talented.

This got me thinking: how many people get discouraged by criticism and stop writing?  I don't have the answer, but I can tell you that I was one of them.

It was my tenth grade English class that thwarted my own early creative writing.  We were given an assignment to write a short story for class.  Meanwhile, the twelfth grade creative writing students would edit and critique our work.  At the time, I had been reading a lot of fantasy, particularly epic fantasy, so I decided that I would write a story about elves.

Before you ask, I no longer have a copy of the story, nor do I remember what it was about.  All I remember was that there were elves and there was a fight scene.  I couldn't keep the word count down to a reasonable short story length, and in the end, I'm not sure that I really ever finished it.  The story just stopped.  It was BAD.  But I had to submit it for the class assignment.

The senior that read my long piece of you-know-what absolutely tore it to shreds.  I knew it was awful, but she nit-picked through the thing and sent me running home in tears.  Okay, not really, but still. 

I was absolutely mortified by the experience.  In retrospect, the senior was just fulfilling her class assignment as well, so I can hardly blame her for tearing it to bits, but nonetheless it caused me to believe that I was terrible at creative writing in general.  Since there were other things that filled my time that I was already good at, like softball and volleyball and piano lessons and jazz band and AP classes...I decided it wasn't worth the effort to get good, even though I'd had a lot of fun with the writing.

I didn't write any other creative works until I got the itch a couple of years ago.

What gave me the itch?  I think it was a lack of a creative outlet.  There were of course other outlets that I could have turned to -- like playing piano, in which my loving parents invested thousands of dollars from the ages of 6 through 18 -- but I wanted to tell stories.  I wanted to give a reader the escape and the enjoyment that I had always received from books.  I wanted to write.

So I tried again.  The difference is that now I'm choosing to write because it's fun, not some class assignment that's required of me.  I'm choosing to learn and develop my creativity.  I'm choosing to put in the practice time so that I can become a great writer.  Anyone that's read Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers can tell you it will take 10,000 hours of practice to master a complex skill.  Well, my butt is in my chair and I'm sticking with it.  Practice makes perfect and only time will tell if I'll ever be successful and known.

Of course, I hope to be successful, known and talented.