Tag: Practice

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Notes from a Season of Writing

Writing goes through its own seasons, much like life in general does. Right now I’m in a season of change. What was comfortable yesterday has become stifling. And what was safe and a source of pride has somehow morphed into a daunting obstacle. In the immortal words of Bruce Springsteen, I want to “change my clothes, my hair, my face” – and a few things besides. Actually it’s not about appearance at all. It’s about what’s going on under the hood. I’ve been slacking on my diet, I’ve been slacking on exercise, and with the resultant lack of energy, I’ve Read More …

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Labor Day

The history of Labor Day is no doubt interesting and well worth reading up on. Honestly, though, it’s not the first thing that comes to my mind on this particular day. I’ve always liked this day as a bridge between the ease of summer and a season of harder, more focused work. A day of reflection and renewal, and a day of re-commitment to my goals and values. “Labor” is a word with many connotations. On the downside, it carries a whiff of the unwanted, like “chore”, just harder. The proverbial salt mines come to mind. And, yes, writing can Read More …

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Talent Is Everything – Or Is It?

When it comes to brains or athlethicism or creativity, we all admire the prodigy. The precocious. The talented. Talent is what it’s all about. Now, it’s obvious that some people have talent. A shitload of it. Even when they were children, they excelled at their chosen activity. Some of them became obsessed with it. They practiced for hours. They immersed themselves fully. And they had the right parents or teachers or coaches, and their talent, combined with relentless practice and a good portion of serendipity, took them to the pinnacle of their careers. And then there are those who started Read More …

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Survivorship Bias

Another author’s talk. Another conference panel. Another interview. Again and again, we’re treated to stories of success. We hear about the query letter that landed an author an agent. About the chance encounter that led to a guest post that went viral and launched a career. About the debut novel that sold at auction. For a high six-figure advance, of course. And, of course, every success story needs its share of adversity overcome. The bigger the success, the bigger usually the adversity. The message is clear: Everybody can succeed if only they apply themselves. If you’re not succeeding, you’re not Read More …

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The Taste Gap

Ira Glass raised a very interesting idea in an interview once. The idea of the taste gap. What it means is that we get into creative endeavors because we have good taste. We want to make good art. We know what good art looks like, feels like, reads like. But in the beginning, our skill set isn’t nearly evolved enough to produce the kind of art we like. So we practice and we expose ourselves to other people’s art. We refine our taste and we build our skills until we’re starting to produce work that we’re proud of. And then Read More …