Maybe Good Writing is More Sweat than DNA

I was just thinking of two great writers--Vladimir Nabokov and Joseph Conrad. Both wrote in a language that was not their first language; indeed, Conrad didn't even know English until he was an adult.

So many writing books push the idea that anyone (or almost anyone) can become a published writer. I used to think that was just boosterism so as to sell more copies, but Nabokov and Conrad have convinced me otherwise.

For up-and-coming writers, this can be kind of encouraging.

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