Jul 26, 2010

Icarus had it coming

Hubris.

It got the Greeks in some serious trouble. 

Not those Greeks, the ones with the deficit and fiscal mismanagement and street protests (although, on second thought, maybe those ones as well).

But the ones in Sophocles' plays, in togas, who went around flouting the natural laws of the gods and were smitten (smote?) down as a result.

I think I may have a little smiting of my own coming.

Almost a year ago, Res decides that she's too good for consulting, or really any silly desk job for which she has trained and slaved and filled out circles with number 2 pencils.  Not for her, the dull life of time sheets and black trouser suits and morning commutes with sweaty unknowns.  Not for her, the anonymity of millions and the banality of monthly paychecks. 

No, for she has talent.  A special gift.  She has been touched by the gods.  She can use a keyboard and string sentences together with only the occasional grammatical error. 

And so, she will Write A Novel.  She will be Awarded The Pulitzer.  She will be  A Brilliant Author and hordes of readers will Bow Before Her Greatness.

Yeah right.

Let's count the number of people actually talented enough to write a novel, shall we?

That didn't take long.

And it appears I am not one of them - turns out statistical improbabilities are just that.  Improbable.

So let the deadly deluge and plagues of locusts begin.  I'll get my umbrella.

4 comments:

Karin B (Looking for Ballast) said...

Ohhhhhh. Don't throw in the towel just yet. I have a good friend who has been slaving away a this novel writing thing for three years now. Multiple submissions, and four manuscripts later she is now just getting some attention from interested agents. This is the way of it, and she gets mightily frustrated with it, but on she goes.

It is a lot harder than people think, that is for damn sure.

It *is* still possible! But one has to be a bit like Sisyphus with that rock, laboring over and over. Unlike Sisyphus, some people make it over that mountain to the other side into Published Land.

Good luck sorting things out.

paris (im)perfect said...

Oh, Res. I echo Karin above. Really, writing a novel is friggin' hard. And thinking to do it in a year? Crazy talk! (Ok, some people do, but that makes us all feel even worse, so let's not talk about those people).

Even if you're not ready to face it now, stick it in a drawer, forget about it for awhile. But then come back to it; it will look fresh again after you've had some time away.

Bon courage!

Anonymous said...

Write and re-write... and re-write some more-- I'm about to say something that will make the ex-consultant in you cringe... Benchmark your writing against your favourite book. Identify the gap and them spend the next few months addressing those gaps. You can do it.

Res I(p)sa said...

I appreciate the support guys! Have taken a week off and feel slightly better about facing it again now. But I do think I've reached that point where I need external input - time for new eyeballs!