When they talk about “talent”

When they say “you’re so talented” they are saying they don’t know. They think the words bubbled up from that magic source within you coherent and edited. That the story was fully formed with no plot holes. They think that all of it just sat down nicely on a page while you sipped your morning coffee and then went off to the editor before you started lunch.

There’s no concept of the years. Of the training. Of the stacks and stack and stacks and stacks of failures.

Because you’re so talented.

They don’t mean it as an insult but it sure can irk like one.

But you, who are writing a story or a book, who are editing, querying, work-shopping, marketing, publishing, you are so talented.

You are talented at picking yourself up when you’ve been knocked down again.

You are talented at working and reworking a line until it’s perfect.

You are talented at letting go when an editor tells you that line needs to be cut.

You are talented at sitting your ass in a chair and writing. Over and over again.

You are talented at trying, at persevering, thanklessly, while those people who brush off your hard work as talent do things infinitely easier than trying to make words into a story and put that story into the world.

You are so talented and if you made it this far, you can make it all the way.

Go kick some ass with all that “talent”