The video I just posted with Charlie Rose interviewing author Malcom Gladwell, author of “Tipping Point,” “Blink,” and “Outliers” is so rich!  You want to know what it takes to be an exceptional writer? It’s all there, matching my sentiments on the process.  Here are some key thoughts:

Summarizing Billy Joy,  computer genius: “I have found the thing that has captured my imagination and I have the faith that will take me somewhere meaningful.”  That’s it! If your writing captures your own imagination, it will take you somewhere meaningful!

The paradox of genius is that you don’t need to be one, and in your genius you might find that the highest level of achievement might not be worth it.  What level do you REALLY want to work at? Where does what it takes become not worth it?  If you are genius, you see this before you have put in 20 years.

Speaking of years, it takes ten to become exceptional, whether you have talent or not.  Ten years is the common thread to greatness.  Nobody is an overnight success, though it may look that way when the press discovers them “overnight.”

Meaningful work means it is autonomous (you get to do novel writing alone, without someone looking over your shoulder), complex (just read on with Mayden, there will be plenty of that!), and the effort equals the reward.  Here is where a lot of writers who are in it for the money get tripped up, because standard publishing won’t reward most writers with much money—only the top authors really  make money.  If it is enough to see your name in print, to have books on the shelf, that’s great.  If not, and you can’t stick out the ten years, you’re not likely to feel that reward is equal to the effort.

A high IQ is not required, and maybe not even talent.  Those who put in the hours, who look at themselves and are willing to correct what is wrong and get better, with an IQ of 120 are just as likely to have success as someone with an IQ of 200.  More important: curiosity and passion!