Courtesy of The Story Prize Blog, author Adam Prince gives some helpful advice on the truth behind inspiration:
I think inspiration is largely a myth. It’s tied to the myth of talent, which makes writers seem like we’re special people, sage-types who channel the infinite. Of course, I’m flattered when people tell me I’m talented, but I don’t really believe it. When I started writing, my work was terrible: overintellectual, overdramatic, unclear, pompous, abstract . . . And more than anything resembling talent, what I had going for me was a great interest in writing and an even greater fear of failure. I was bad, but I was willing to work really hard to get good. So when my students turn in a story that doesn’t go over too well in workshop, I tell them not to worry—that my own writing was much, much worse.
Read more from the interview here.
One response
This sort of thing always confuses me. As if having the willingness to work really hard to become good doesn’t make you a special person.
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