Those who Can write rarely realize how difficult it is for those who cannot

It makes me think most people don’t understand their own minds very well https://t.co/s6eC7613Io

— Alexander J.A Cortes (@AJA_Cortes) May 2, 2019

Agreed. It took me a long, long time to comprehend that some people — many people — can’t “just write” as I can, and that it is a prohibitively-difficult task for many. I guess that was my equivalent of, “Anyone can do math, you just haven’t been shown how!” nonsense that math types spout.

Writing, though, is a complex task that not only takes much practice but also a certain kind of mind, a kind that I happen to possess. Others don’t, though often being no less intelligent.

And not everyone has the time or interest it takes to read as voluminously as is required to be a capable writer. I estimate I had to read for about 30,000 hours to become a good writer. Not a typo. That is 30,000 hours of reading. That’s just shy of 3.5 years of having a book in my hand. Just reading, does not include any other time. I’d say that’s conservative as an estimate, as I am fast reader and have a pretty good mind. Most will require more reading time.