The ‘Anyone’ Myth
What’s the most annoying thing someone has asked you when you’ve told them what your dream job is? When I told a friend, who I’m not going to name and shame because I’m not as cruel and cold-hearted as she was, that I wanted to be an author, she laughed and said: “Oh, please, how hard is it to write a book? Anyone can write a book!”
My answer to this question? It is seriously god damn hard and if anyone could write a book, everyone would be doing exactly that (Note: I’m paraphrasing, my actual response probably contained a lot more expletives that would be inappropriate to list).
It is one of the most annoying things in the entire world when someone can dismiss all the hard work and dedication that goes in to writing – or anything really. Writing, drawing, and mathematics – all things in life require hard work, dedication and determination. Most people don’t see the work that goes behind a finished product. When someone picks up and reads a book, all they see is the words presented to them on that page. They don’t see the mountains of screwed up paper balls with trashed ideas, the lists of characters, the character profiles, the setting descriptions, the thousands of deleted words and trashed drafts that the writer didn’t feel was ‘good enough’. I’m working a story at the moment that takes place in a fantasy world, so what am I doing? I’m making that world. I’m making histories, cultures, religions, monarchies, cities, towns and laws, governments, parliaments, armies and fake wars, cuisines, dances, literature, songs, buildings and traditions. Most people are blind to all the stress and tears and sweat and blood and hours spent alone sat at a desk that a writer will go through just to create something that they deem to be passable.
It is a fact that most people, once they’ve worked for hours, days, weeks and months, possibly even years on something, they will most likely hate the end result. I cannot count the number of times I’ve written something and by the time I’ve finished it, I cannot even bear to look at it because I genuinely feel like it’s the worst thing I’ve ever written.
So, being told that writing a book isn’t a hard process and that anyone can do it… It is seriously disheartening. It is a myth that just anyone can write a book. Just as it is a myth that just anyone can create a piece of magnificent art or create complex technology or design buildings or manufacture ground breaking drugs or complete intricate surgeries. Just as with anything in life, not just anyone can write a book. An author requires passion, determination, creativity, an iron will to succeed among a whole ocean full of other traits that, when put together, are difficult to find in a single person. So no, not just ‘anyone’ can write a book. And the belief that anyone can is a myth.
But when you do, that's when the magic happens.
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