Take Heart Young Lions!

There are a myriad consolations for the struggling fiction writer. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of profiles, interviews, and essays in which accomplished writers describe the frustrations of their craft, the deepest of which may be the artist's despairing battle against his or her personal demons. This week on the Rumpus, Steve Almond takes up this theme in reference to the New Yorker's "20 Under 40" project, which showcases 20 of America's best young fiction writers. After confessing the jealousy and depression he feels about not being included, Almond sums up with this artistic call to arms:

It is perfectly natural – perhaps inevitable – to dream of being “discovered” and rocketed to the top of the Bestseller list. As Americans, we’ve been trained to dream in this way.

But the real life of a writer resides in showing up at the keyboard every day, with the necessary patience and mercy, and making the best decisions you can on behalf of your people. It’s a slow process. It often feels hopeless, more like an affliction than an art form.

Most of us will have to find our readers one by one, in other words, and against considerable resistance. If anything qualifies us as heroic, it’s that private perpetual struggle.

But for every anecdote about writing, there is an opposite and equally compelling counterexample. Generalizations about writing, it seems, are impossible to draw. Here is the Q and A on the New Yorker website with 20-Under-40 writer C.E. Morgan, whose story "Twins" is featured in the June 14 and 21 issue:

Q:    How long did it take you to write your first book?

A:    The first draft was written in fourteen days.

In fairness, she goes on to say, "the editing was completed in the course of two semesters in graduate school," but still.

-- Sean