One of the many things that are hard to do, is to be able to gauge one’s own talents and skills relative to other people. As a result you have earnest American Idol auditioners who sincerely believe they have what it takes to go all the way, and not only do they not, they are embarrassing, they can’t sing at all. I have a five year old friend who believes she is a great singer/songwriter and fiddle player, and she probably will be someday, but currently her gauge is miscalibrated.
Probably no one is completely accurate when assessing their own capabilities, but many people are way off, in either direction. There are some people who greatly underestimate themselves, and there are perhaps more who overestimate themselves, sometimes wildly.
These thoughts arise because, although I enjoy programming (it is a high art), lately I have felt more like writing stuff. And thinking about that caused me to think about evaluating my writing abilities, relatively speaking. I thought, I’m a good writer. My writing is clear and concise, and has some punch to it. I get to the point.
But, it’s not like I’m a great stylist, like Hemingway or Fitzgerald or somebody. I think writing a novel would be quite a ways over my head, because of style if nothing else. But the real question that comes up is what do you do if you have all the tools you need? When it is no longer a question of style, it becomes a question of your honesty and courage and ruthlessness.
Deep in the secret caves of your experience is where you find the universal. If you’re not writing about that, you can still be a writer, but not a “serious” writer. Just thinking about being a writer brings up these issues of your character and who you really are. Knowing how to sell isn’t enough. You have to have something to sell, and the only thing you have is your precious. Your self.
Think of all the aspiring musicians, actors, beauty contestants, writers, stock brokers, athletes, who have absolutely zero chance of success, and they don’t know it, and nobody can convince them otherwise. The problem is that everyone around you will be telling you you haven’t got a chance, regardless of how good you are. So you can’t go by them. You have to know your self, and that’s hard for some reason.