I just realized that the story we *ought* to be telling, that most accurately reflects How We Succeed at Art, is *not* the story of the Special Child who uses the adversity of Tradition to snatch his gift, whole, from the hands of their elders, but the story of the Child who Trades Her Youth For A Gift.
It’s funny, that the first story is thought to be uplifting, *true* and one that we therefore write and tell *often*, while the second story, which *IS* true, is, when it’s told at all, is narrated as a Warning, and the Trader Child as a fool.
Of course, it could be that those two narratives are the same — obverse and reverse.
Discuss.
The hard work one informed me.
I’m reminded of this Pratchett quote from WEE FREE MEN: “If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.” I know at least 2 people who came from greatly-deprived backgrounds and they managed to succeed in their chosen field through sheer determination to Not Quit.
Is there an element of luck? Maybe. But I think you make your own luck.
One could argue that the story of the Child who Trades Her Youth For A Gift has similarities to the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. If she is left contented by the bargain, then it wasn’t a foolish bargain.
We all exchange our youth for the realization of our goals; whether those goals are wild adventures, early retirement, or the blossoming of our Art. The question of whether or not we are foolish isn’t for others to judge.
I think I would prefer a different narrative. I come from a scitech family–Dad a zoologist, Mom an RN, greatgrandfather a tinsmith (let’s call it a sort of engineer, eh?). So here’s the engineering narrative: “Hmm. Interesting idea. How do I make this thing work? Aha! Now let’s try that again.”
It’s informed by the influence of elders, to be sure, and it is improved by experience (age).
Still another narrative is based on why at least some of us want to write. A lot of my writing was motivated by the pain of a difficult (Sharon and Steve know what I mean) marriage. So the writing was a distraction, a way of redefining experience. My last novel, written after the divorce, had a character modeled on my ex, and my daughter said “Accurate but not kind.”
Does this have anything to do with how we succeed at art? Well, no–success comes as Sharon and Steve know from a combination of talent, perseverance or hard work, and good luck. They have all three, in heaping measures. Merry Christmas!
I might be missing your point, but the story that’s most precious to me is the Special Child whose gift manifests as a liability until she finds her way to people who value what she can do.