It's often said that it takes ten years to become an overnight success:
"Researchers have shown it takes about ten years to develop expertise in any of a wide variety of areas, including chess playing, music composition, telegraph operation, painting, piano playing, swimming, tennis, and research in neuropsychology and topology. The key is deliberative practice: not just doing it again and again, but challenging yourself with a task that is just beyond your current ability, trying it, analyzing your performance while and after doing it, and correcting any mistakes. Then repeat. And repeat again."
Peter Norvig, Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years
If so, I reckon I'm on year 7 on 10.
Admittedly I've been writing for fun since I was a teenager, and I've even made a few pounds here and there over the years (mainly from non-fiction), but 2003 was the year I got serious about my fiction writing.
Just over seven years ago, in late June 2003, I attended the Winchester Writers' Conference for the first time. I had joined a writer's forum (Writers' BBS) a year or two earlier, and worked my way up to the heady heights of co-moderator of the fantasy forum, but this was the first time I got an opportunity to meet other writers in the flesh: real, professional published writers, who were willing to give an opinion on my own lowly efforts.
As is well known, writing is a lonely occupation and one plagued by the extremes of hubris and crippling self-doubt. I knew I was technically competent (I used to be a non-fiction production editor), but could I write fiction as well as I hoped? Fortunately the answer seemed to be a qualified yes - and that was the point at which I finally felt publication was an attainable goal rather than a pleasant daydream.
So here I am, seven years in, and what do I have to show for it? One published short story, and an almost finished novel that I intend to submit later this year (Acts of God permitting!). It usually takes a couple of years to get a manuscript through the publication process and into the shops, so I reckon I still have time for that "overnight" sucess...
Perhaps if I had known how long it was going to take, I would have been discouraged and given up, but maybe not. Two things really distinguish a writer from a wannabe:
- A real writer has to write. You may stop for a while - real life has a habit of getting in the way - but eventually the stories suck you back in, demanding an outlet
- As described above, a writer who is serious about publication pushes herself constantly, seeking new ways to improve her craft and learn about the business of writing, rather than seeking quick fixes or settling for "good enough".
Here's to the summer of 2013!
What a coincidence! 2003 is also when I started working toward publication. It started with an open call for a D&D tie-in novel, and then I wandered over to Forward Motion and NaNoWriMo when I learned I wasn't even close -- I needed to learn more and write more.
Guess that makes us classmates. 2013, here we come!
:D
You know, I completely forgot to mention that I joined Forward Motion in January 2003 - doh! So it's definitely a landmark year for me in multiple ways.