!0,000 Hours

It takes about 10,000 hours to acquire any skill. Imagine that. 10,000 hours.  Break it down and that’s 250 straight 40 hour work weeks. I believe it. I don’t exactly know what ‘hour count’ I’m at in my writing career, but I know it’s a hell of a lot more than 10,000 hours.

I also know that between the years 1995 and 2011 I have definitely developed the skill for storytelling. Fifteen years ago, I didn’t possess this skill. I could create a story in my mind, but translating these thoughts into structure, dialogue, plot, characters, scenes, conflicts and climaxes was a pretty hard gig. It took practice and more practice. And it took a lot of perseverance and patience. I learnt all I could about the craft of writing through college courses, correspondence courses, workshops, my writing group, a supportive literary agent I'd never signed with, an editor, beta readers, self-help books and the internet. And I’m still learning. The process of writing a good book never ends. A book people would read. A book I can be proud of.

So remember, if you’re in the midst of developing new skills, cut yourself some slack. Rome wasn’t built in a day.