Why You Don’t Need Talent to Start Writing Your First Novel | The Myth of Talent

The Problem

We dream, wish, and feel discouraged; then the never-ending cycle begins again. The problem with waiting is, it’s passive, and there is only one way to wait.

There are only two options in life; you can either choose to wait for confirmation or create your opportunities.

There is only one way to become a great writer, and it is to start writing and keep writing.

There is no waiting option for writing. Waiting takes you out of the game and places you on the bench in spectator mode where you fall prey to envy which leads to self-comparison and eventually insecurity.

The Myth of Talent

Everyone at some point in time will find themselves envious of the talent of others. We idolise successful people in our desired industry; this is especially true of creative individuals. We see a relatively unknown writer plucked from obscurity and onto a bestseller list and, we think “I wish I were that good!” Instead of using this feeling to inspire and push ourselves to become better writers or to stop dreaming and start doing, we become introspective and start comparing our abilities against our idols, thus confirm a belief that talent is ready-made instead of cultivated.

Talent is the result of hard work; especially writing talent and much of the effort that goes into nurturing the skill of writing occurs behind the scenes and, therefore, is unseen.

The Curse of Comparison Syndrome

It’s rare that you get a glimpse, of what goes on behind the scenes. A book on a shelf in a bookshop or a title on a bestseller list is one small fraction of the effort that goes into being a writer or author. The dangers of comparing your behind-the-scenes to the highlight reel of another writer are two-fold. You fall prey to unrealistic expectations coupled with disappointment, and more importantly, you start living by someone else’s definition of success.

How you define, success is extremely crucial to the development of your writing talent or abilities.

Success is not a permanent fixture in time; instead, something that changes as you achieve and grow. How you defined success three months ago will be different from how you define success today.

Ask yourself the following questions.

How do I define success?

Am I taking active steps towards achieving this goal?

If not, take the time right now to write the first five small steps you can take to become a writer or cultivate writing talent. It’s not important to see every actionable step before you start.

The key is to start.

Starting is what sets apart dreams from writers. When you climb a set of stairs all you need to see is the step ahead, you do not necessarily need to see every step to start.

Concluding Thoughts

Are you a writer? Have you been guilty of comparing your behind-the-scenes to the highlight reel of others? How has this comparison affected your self-confidence as a writer? I want to hear your story. Please let me know by using the comments box below.

Thank you for reading, sharing and commenting with such kindness and enthusiasm.

With love,