The Long Game

One of the themes that will be a recurring feature of this blog is that while writing may not be a lucrative game, it IS a long one. Dreaming of overnight success is the mark of an amateur. Look more closely at almost any writer who came "out of nowhere" and you'll find they have been writing for years. They may not have been published, but they have been learning their craft.

At the extreme end of this spectrum is German resistance fighter Hans Keilson, who fought the Nazis with the Dutch resistance and wrote a novel about his experiences 63 years ago. The Guardian reports that, at the age of 101, he has lived to see his book published in the UK for the first time, and has won belated recognition in the US as one of the greatest writers in the world.

His book Comedy in a Minor Key, follows the best selling success of an earlier novel The Death of the Adversary, published in the US when he was 100. So, if you think you a bit old to get started in the writing game, take heart. And some vitamin supplements - you may need to stick around for some time...http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/17/german-hans-keilson-comedy-minor-key