Kevin Barry, the Irish novelist, opined in The Paris Review piece "Jumping Off a Cliff: An Interview with Kevin Barry" (November 12, 2013) that "literary talent isn’t rare", because a lot of people have the potential to be good writers; however, most people don't have the discipline to write "every single fucking day", and most people don't make writing a priority. Consequently, most people never develop their literary talent. Kevin Barry:
"The funny thing about it all is that literary talent isn’t rare. Lots of people can write good stories with good characters and great sentences. What’s rare is the stubborn, pragmatic thing that tells you “I’ve got to do this every single fucking day, even when I don’t want to do it, when I’d rather pluck my eyes out and feed them to the birds.” That discipline combined with talent is very rare. I’d be willing to bet that some of the most brilliant writers who ever lived have never been published, because they weren’t prepared to do the work. You have to make sacrifices and be utterly selfish. Everything else and everyone else is secondary to your writing."
Barry's stance reminds me of Angela Duckworth's Grit, where she wrote that grit can be a better indicator of success than "talent" or IQ scores, because talent that's multiplied by effort equals skill, which, when multiplied by effort, God willing, equals achievement.
Lastly, I would add that a key to having the discipline to write every single day, is to write about a topic of passion, which you passionately want to share.
