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How Do You Know You’re Not a “No-Talent Ass Clown”?
Hint: it’s a very good sign that this question has occurred to you
“I’m feeling generous today, so I’m going to give you a copy of my book,” the woman told us. “I’ll even sign it for you.”
My colleague and I squirmed on our metal folding chairs as she autographed two copies of her self-published “novel,” which was only thirty pages long. When volunteering at a book festival you just know you’ll be encountering eccentrics over the course of the day, and many of them are pleasant enough to chat with for a few minutes. Not so with this one. A variety of books written in our community workspace — fiction and nonfiction, both traditionally and self published — were arranged on the table between us, but she never once glanced at them. She didn’t ask about our writing space, our community, or our own work. This writer wasn’t interested in anyone’s words but her own, which is why she will likely never write anything worth reading.
We can talk all day about persistence, but let’s get real. What about those people who have lots of ambition but very little apparent ability? A “no-talent ass clown,” to quote Michael Bolton from the movie Office Space.
Let’s get even realer: How do I know I’M not one of those people, and all my friends and family and colleagues are just too polite or afraid to tell me the truth?
It is bad enough to make a fool of yourself in public, but it could be worse, right? You might be humiliating yourself and you don’t even know it.
No one wants to be the loud, swaggering, apparently talentless person convinced of his own genius. We cringe at the worst of the prime-time talent show audition reels, but the producers know we won’t change the channel because we’re frozen with relief that we aren’t the ones being utterly ridiculous on national television. It is bad enough to make a fool of yourself in public, but it could be worse, right? You might be humiliating yourself and you don’t even know it.
In the beginning it can be tricky to develop a clear picture of our potential in the area we’re most passionate about. Well-meaning teachers…
