While looking
through the MacArthur Foundation 2013 Fellows I came across a Psychologist by
the name of Angela Duckworth. Ms.
Duckworth studies the role that intellectual strengths and personality traits
play in educational achievement. Her
work examines two traits that she believes predicts success in life “grit - the
tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward long-term goals, and
self-control - the voluntary regulation of behavioral, emotional, and
attentional impulses”.
Exploring these
traits in regard to the endeavor of writing fiction it is clear that the best
work comes from authors who possess imagination, character, and self-control.
When Ms.
Duckworth says grit she is referring to a person’s character. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Grit
as: firmness of mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of
hardship or danger.
The act of
writing in no way forces one to be strong in the face of hardship or danger,
but it does require perseverance. The
act of sitting down to write day in and day out takes a firmness of mind or
spirit.
Albert Einstein once said “Most people say
that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is
character.” He also said
It takes imagination and character to build
scenes, construct a plot, and culminate the two into a great story.
One of the most
challenging parts of finalizing a manuscript is editing and rewriting. As an author matures he finds that his best
work comes from rewriting. It is in the
rewriting that the imagination takes over, and over time the author molds a
story that will entertain those that read it.
Self-control
comes in when the author slowly becomes sick of their work. They’ve read and edited the piece over and
over, and are growing tired of it. I’ve
heard it said that by the time an author publishes their work they are over it
and ready to move on to something else.
Here’s a
question to all of you fellow writers out there. What do you think it takes to be successful
as an author?
Credits: http://www.macfound.org
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
I agree with the part of editing and rewriting. A great writer has someone who will edit him clearly and without fear. Then the author needs to accept what he finds useful and do the rewriting.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree Bill. Having a good editor and being able to accept their edits is a huge part of polishing one's manuscript.
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