Writing, Talent and Mozart

I was somewhat stunned yesterday when I opened my "Stories Sent" spreadsheet and saw that I have only two stories (and one novel) in the pipeline. Could be that I'm taking more time with stories, more than I used to, which for me is a good thing. In the past I've been too quick to send something out before it was in sendable shape. Some people might think it's a good idea to send out stories that aren't quite polished, thinking that they'll get some good comments on how to tighten them up.

For my money, it doesn't work that way. First of all, it's not the editor's job to critique your story for you. Second, they don't have time for it. Unless you're working on a story for a specific contest, what's the hurry? I've been teaching myself to take it slow, to make sure I really know the characters/setting/tone/etc. before putting stamps on envelopes (or hitting the "send" button).

But I still write stuff, either freewrites or exercises that will probably never develop into publishable ideas or see the light of day. But that writing is still important.

On a somewhat related note, I read something interesting in Steve Olson's Count Down: The Race for Beautiful Solutions at the International Mathematical Olympiad. Olson cites several studies comparing talent vs. hard work. University of Exeter psychologist Michael Howe (author of Genius Explained) argues against "the idea that just a few people are born with a special mental capacity that enables them to achieve high levels of performance in a particular field." Hard work and persistence are what matter, says Howe.

Howe notes that even with the advantages of growing up in a musical household, Mozart had to work and work hard. He gives Mozart's practice time a very conservative estimate of three hours a day. From age three (when he supposedly began to play) to age six (his first musical tour of Europe), Mozart would have had 3,500 hours of practice. "That's about how long it takes for a young performer to become a very good amateur," says Howe.

Howe goes on to state (This is paraphrased, mind you.) that to achieve a recognizable level of mastery in any field requires roughly ten years of methodical, disciplined practice. After all, Mozart's first concerto that was recognized as a masterpiece is his Piano Concerto No. 9 in Eb Major (K. 271), written when he was 21, well more than a decade after he started composing.

If that's true, that it takes a good ten years of work before you produce anything good, then I've got about a three-year grace period. I don't know if I'd put all my eggs in Howe's basket --- I tend to agree more with Ray Bradbury's assessment that it takes writing a million words (which hopefully would come to pass before ten years would) before you produce anything good. Whatever the case, I know that I'm gradually getting better at this writing thing and that it takes time; you can't rush it.

So...what's the word count for today?