Maybe I'm missing it, but my takeaway from the article wasn't that newbies are being advised that a lot of writing isn't needed, but rather that nobody was telling them straight-up that its going to be a long grind, with no guarantee of the big payout at the end, so just to enjoy the journey and the learning process for its own sake (with the analogies to running), because the odds of actually becoming famous are so small that its not really a realistic expectation.
I'd be curious to know what her advice is for someone who sees running, or writing, as a chore that they don't particularly enjoy, but puts in the needed time anyway. There's many people who run who don't particularly enjoy it the way she's describing, but do so for its physical and mental benefits, and more than a few famous authors who by their own admission hated the process of writing, but had the discipline to complete multiple novels (or write daily newspaper columns, etc). I guess its something of a tragedy if someone devotes a lot of time to something they dislike and never sees much reward out of it, but I think that's also another point she's making, that there's other benefits to writing beyond hoping to get published, and that those may actually be more realistic for most writers to aim towards than trying to be the next King, Asimov, or Hemingway.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2015-09-04 01:56 am (UTC)I'd be curious to know what her advice is for someone who sees running, or writing, as a chore that they don't particularly enjoy, but puts in the needed time anyway. There's many people who run who don't particularly enjoy it the way she's describing, but do so for its physical and mental benefits, and more than a few famous authors who by their own admission hated the process of writing, but had the discipline to complete multiple novels (or write daily newspaper columns, etc). I guess its something of a tragedy if someone devotes a lot of time to something they dislike and never sees much reward out of it, but I think that's also another point she's making, that there's other benefits to writing beyond hoping to get published, and that those may actually be more realistic for most writers to aim towards than trying to be the next King, Asimov, or Hemingway.