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The Writer’s Trifecta
There are three qualities that make successful writers. But only one is truly important.
Sometimes, you need a good ol’-fashioned slap across the face.
On occasion, a literal slap is called for, but most of the time, a figurative one will work just as well.
So imagine my shock when I re-read this passage from my first and favorite writing craft book, Elizabeth George’s Write Away:
“Here’s what I tell my students on the first day when I teach one of my creative writing courses: You will be published if you possess three qualities — talent, passion, and discipline.”
Okay, on first glance, that doesn’t seem too bad. It seems fairly prescriptive, not to mention broad. What is talent, after all? What is passion? What is discipline? It seems like those things are kind of nebulous. You can’t pin them down.
But she goes on:
“You will probably be published if you possess two of the three qualities in either combination — either talent and discipline, or passion and discipline.”
All right! Now this is a game I can get behind. Don’t have to hit the perfect trifecta, and there’s still good odds of me walking away with a publishing deal. I can work with reduced odds.
