Potpourri for $100

*hand-wringing* There was a time when I was a four-season woman, but I can barely remember it. We canceled our trip north because we'd be driving right into a winter storm advisory. Not only do we miss out on gaming, but also some awesome Victorian costuming. I'm sure there'll be a reschedule.

What is interesting, though, is that suddenly I have an unplanned weekend. Which bespeaks possibilities.

***

I had a big fish in a small pond moment today: Susan, my barista, introduced me to an elementary school teacher who bought Hulk Hercules: Professional Wrestler for her classroom. She complimented the book, told me her students liked it, and asked about a sequel. That was nice.

Regretfully, no current plans for a sequel. That balls totally in Cat Curious' court.

***

Clarion Workshop! Application is live! Go sign up! John Scalzi, one of the best writing teachers I've ever had, is teaching this year. Another VP teaching alum, Elizabeth Bear, will be there. Oh, and while I don't know anything about Kij Johnson's teaching, I've recently become a big fan of her work. I suspect she has lots to teach you. Of course, there are other awesome instructors who will give you the benefit of their experience.

Will I ever apply? Probably not. It's very tempting, I could probably squirrel away enough money, and yes, my dean might even work with me on the time commitment. The next two summers are already obligated. This summer I'm off to Norway, and I have many conventions. 2012 is my 25th anniversary, and Bryon and I are off to Disney Paris. But I don't know about the future.

***

Received very helpful information about herds of cattle from Heather and James Ingemar. Heather is a fellow Drollerie author, and it turns out her day job is raising cattle. Their take was very different from the business like sites I'd been visiting. If the story is published, I'll owe them great thanks for Chris's vet school training.

Work?

Not quite. There's one more thing to write.

Catherine

Mirrored from Writer Tamago.

Expertise and Habit: Outliers Analysis

Rethinking learning how to write, I've decided to seriously practice, so I can get to Carnegie Hall.

The expertise literature is old news. Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers suggests that "greatness requires enormous time." A constant theme in the book is Anders Ericsson's theory that in order to be an expert, one must spend around 10,000 hours practicing in an area. For example, the Beatles performed over 1200 times in Hamburg from 1960 to 1964. That kind of practice changes art.

In our own genre, Jay Lake is an example of this. Jay was a story-writing, rejection-receiving machine, until ultimately his expertise caught up with his output.

There are other factors that we commonly believe help us succeed. The public thinks "our smarts, ambition, hustle and hard work" are among these, although Gladwell remains skeptical. I think they probably do play a role, although they are no substitute for expertise. Gladwell also continues to question about whether environment plays a part.

I've been thinking about my writing. As a writer who didn't buckle down until later life, I realize that I have quite a long way to go before I reach those expert hours. In order to invest 10,00 hours in my writing, I'd have to spend 20 hours a week writing for 10 years. (520 weeks X 20 hours = 10400). That's an ambitious schedule. I probably don't have quite that many hours to go. Even the hours from when I hadn't buckled down count.

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Mirrored from Writer Tamago.