10,000 hours

I got a call today from Priyanka - asking me if all was well. She hadn't seen me in a while, I had not even asked for books to be delivered to my home from Evening Hour for the last few weeks and of course, my blog was stagnating. Was I OK?

I felt sheepish telling her that I was just taking it easy, I had no real excuses, work has been light lately, no business travel for two straight months, no other pressures to complain about. I felt bad, letting down one of the few regular readers of my blog with my paltry posting. But I have not felt compelled about any issue to write about it. I have not even completed reading any meaningful books to review. So I feel there is no real story to report. And as I said it, I sometimes feel like such a fraud when I say I like to writer.

To be a writer, nay, to be good at anything, as Malcolm Gladwell says in "Outliers", you need to spend 10,000 hours on your special talent, whether it is in sport, art or work. To be honest, I have spent more hours thinking about writing than writing itself. Although when I get that compelling feeling, no matter how busy I am, I do get my thoughts down in print. But most of the time, I meander along, mulling over my thoughts, refining my opinions, composting ideas and feelings into tangible words and logical flow.

I subscribe to a writing group where I see people eagerly sharing links, opportunities and their personal sources of inspiration. It is clear that they live and breathe in the writer's world. And many of them have found success in getting their work published. More power to them. They show the way to amateurs like me and make me acutely aware of how far I am from the 10,000 hour qualifying mark.

So I am writing today, to show my effort towards that lofty goal.

Oh! And I visited Evening Hour and got some books to read. Stay tuned for more reviews.