You hear a lot about passion these days. I just came from a writer's conference and the question everybody seemed to be asking was, "What is your passion?" And the theory is, that if you write about your passion, then your writing will ring true. I buy that. But I'm sort of new to this passion thing. Like everybody else, I've always had pursuits in my life that I've been passionate about, but until recent years, I've never really chased hard after my passions.
I think I always felt like I needed permission to do so. My first real passion was probably tennis. My parents bought me racquets. My high school coach taught me how to improve. But I never really immersed myself into the game, meaning I didn't buy a lot of books about the proper techniques, or I didn't take any lessons. I basically hit a lot of tennis balls with friends, learned what worked for me, and then I competed. Sometimes successfully, but usually not.
When I started playing guitar in the late 80's and early 90's, I went a little deeper, in that I took lessons, but I never truly immersed myself into the guitar. Partly because I was shy and reserved, partially because throwing myself into such a thing meant that many other areas of interest would suffer, and partially because I felt like I needed someone to get behind me to push me over the hump. Someone who saw my "talent" (which wasn't much, believe me) and then admonished me to go all out.
Now, as a writer, things are different. I've sat under some great teaching over the years and I've learned how novelists construct scenes, and I've learned how non-fiction writers use fiction techniques in their writing to bring it to life, and I've learned how to craft an article in such a way that it compels people to continue reading--all of these things have made me a better writer.
But I also know that I can dive so much deeper. And I love that. The deeper you dive the better you become. In fact, I don't think you can become great at something until you've truly uncovered the little nuances that most aren't willing to look for. Natural talent is nice to have, but it only takes a person so far if he or she is unwilling to strive for excellence.
If you find yourself stuck in a rut today, hoping that somebody will give you permission to pursue something you already know that you should be chasing, then I hope you'll hear what I'm saying and just do it.
