I would like to think I have a “natural talent” for writing.

Let’s assess the validity of this statement. I am beginning to believe that “talent” is only a small part of what goes into our achievements – in my case, writing three books. There are many other ingredients involved – perseverance and consistency, for instance.

Writing is something I have always loved to do, and therefore I do it often. Practicing something, or doing something consistently over a long period of time, makes you better at it. Looking back, I realize that I would not call my 8 or 9 year-old self a “talented” writer. My writing has improved over the years because of the hours I spent practicing the craft.

So this is the 10,000 hour rule – 10,000 hours of consistent, deep practice is what it takes to become an “expert.”

This means it would take me 27.4 years to become an expert author if I wrote for an hour every day of the week, 365 days a year. 27.4 years is a considerably long period of time, and that is only if I practiced consistently for an hour EVERY day, which does not exclude holidays and lazy days.

Let’s be honest. I may spend an hour writing over a period of two or three days – inconsistently throughout the week.

What point am I trying to make here? I have a really, really long way to go.

~ Brooke