Thursday, July 01, 2010

The peak age for writers

In The New York Times, Timothy Egan considers late-bloomers in writing and other professions.
For endeavors that require knowledge of craft, and constant experimenting to get it right, age may actually be a benefit...

My favorite septuagenarian inspiration is Norman Maclean, who published the most beautiful, word-perfect novel of the American West, “A River Runs Through It,” when he was 74. And then he had a second book in him, “Young Men and Fire,” published after his death at 87. Old, seemingly doomed, and brilliant — a role model for all second-act aces.

2 comments:

  1. 74 is young! Myrra Stanford-Smith just sold her first novel at 82 and there are many others:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/jul/01/age-novel-myrrha-stanford-smith

    Every day every writer hopes to get better and better, regardless of age. There tends to be a worrying ageism in film and television, which is why the WGA and other unions have insisted the IMDB not list birth dates. A good writer is not over the hill at any age; their work must speak for itself.

    Let's also remember the best writing comes from personal experience. Right now all I can say is there must be a lot of serial killers, cops and docs out there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7:49 pm

    Perhaps it's just taken them so long to find an agent.

    ReplyDelete

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