"Without the blessing of failure, the blessing of success is not possible."

[dreamer_easy]

While I'm up, let me draw yr attention to this podcast:

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/practice-makes-perfect/3611212

It talks about "deep practice":

"It flows from the scientific finding that when you operate from the edge of your ability, on the very uncomfortable razor edge of your ability your learning goes up and it doesn't go up just a little it increases quite a lot... The rate at which you can learn increases greatly when you operate in what scientists call the sweet spot on the edge of your ability. And that means reaching for a specific target, for a certain type of motion, or a certain chord on a musical instrument, whatever task you're trying to do, reaching, failing and reaching again... it's very uncomfortable to be in that emotional spot, it takes a certain amount of energy to stay there and yet that's how our brains are built to learn."

I couldn't help thinking of the painful, persistent effort required for a writer to get published. (And I speak as someone who's had a lot of luck and help.) The need to crack a market drives you to reach and fail, reach and fail - and, as you gaze dolefully at your latest ms before flinging it into the void, unlike a tennis player or a cellist, you don't quite know what success would actually look like. Was it Larry Niven who said it takes ten years to become a writer? I think perhaps it takes that long to be able to look at your own writing and understand why it didn't get into print.

Anywho. The other thing I wondered was whether this ghastly cycle of striving and rejection is something that fan fiction mercifully lacks; anybody can instantly publish their work, and if they're any good at all, they have a guaranteed audience. If so, does this mean fanficcers eventually run out of challenges which force them to improve their game? And if that's so, does it matter? The goals and methods of fanfic aren't the same as the goals and methods of writing for dollars, after all. I can cook a tasty meal - does it matter that I don't run a restaurant? What say you, ficcers - what are the challenges you face?

Comments

[outsdr.livejournal.com]

I can't respond as a fanficcer, but this really touches on why I feel I need to move- I'm stagnating from lack of challenge. Life is too easy here; too easy to just coast. And I don't want to coast any more.

[dreamer-easy.livejournal.com]

go for it my son

[ashamel.livejournal.com]

I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving.

Gratuitous Apocalypse Now quote...

Anyway, I believe Stephen King talks about this in On Writing, and how he is grateful he didn't find fandom as a young writer, but did the hard yards getting his short stories into print.

Masochist mollusc alert

[dreamer-easy.livejournal.com]

I had the opposite experience, of course - discovering fanzines encouraged me to write, and gave me a sense of accomplishment and community.

Re: Masochist mollusc alert

[ashamel.livejournal.com]

Very much so. That never quite worked for me -- but then, who knows what I was after...?

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Oddly, this is a lot of what ultimately made me (mostly) stop writing fic.

Not because I didn't love it, or because I didn't have friends who'd push hard as beta readers, but because I felt I'd kind of peaked at what I was trying to accomplish in that arena and wanted to do something that would make me really good.

Of course, there are times (like this month) that I sort of regret the transition, and wish I could go home to where people basically always petted me and said nice things, but the rewards for being awesome over here are more satisfying to me on the whole. I had my moment and my good experiences and made some wonderful friends.

(I should hasten to add that I don't think fic is a stage that's less valid, useful, important, or satisfying than other writing. Objectively speaking, it's all storytelling. It's just a different framework, with different rules and expectations.)