Meanwhile: Overachievers don't write

May 12, 2006 12:00

I always knew at the back of my head that I was not a writer. Professional or otherwise, period.
There have been many a article on the "Opal Mehta" issue but for some reason I liked this one.

Overachievers don't generally become writers because the skill set is so different. If you want to be a writer, work on the finer points of gossip, eavesdropping and voyeurism; basically the pastimes of the underachiever.

That's a little like expecting a claustrophobe to take up a career in a coal mine. And you can't trade on your youth because being young isn't enough to even know your own story, let alone tell it. Some of the best books ever written about youth are by writers long past those dewy days.
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