Turning 30

[alanajoli]

I read an article, probably in the New York Times Book Review and probably in 2001 or 2002 -- whenever Zadie Smith was the new "Hot Young Writer" -- about the term "Hot Young Writer." (If only I could track it down, I'd link to it here.) The contributor wrote about how suddenly, a "Hot Young Writer" would be an "overnight" success -- despite the fact that they, like all of us, had slaved away at their apprenticeships. The benefit to them is that they were noticed early. The detriment? That at some point, you're no longer the "Hot Young Writer." Your second novel might not live up to the expectations of the first as you hit a sophomore slump. Then where will you be? Still at young writer, perhaps, but no longer hot? Or perhaps you'll hit 30 (the age I believe the contributor selected). You might still be hot, but you're not a prodigy any more.

As some folks noticed (via lj's and facebook's helpful reminder system), it was my birthday yesterday, and I've hit that fateful number the NYTBR contributor labeled as no-longer-young. A lot of my identity since I was sixteen has been about doing things early, ahead of the curve (which is, I suppose, a common experience for people who go to Simon's Rock). So, as I told my father over the phone, it's odd to just be a regular grown-up.

On the other hand, I feel pretty much like, for right now, I'm exactly where I want to be in my life -- give or take 30,000 words (which kaz_mahoney has faith I can write -- and with her encouragement, maybe I'll actually do the YaNo challenge this year, since NaNo is definitely not going to fit into my schedule). Do I need to do things to improve? Well, yes. If you've got nothing left to learn, and nowhere left to grow, it takes a lot of the fun out of life! So I think I'll get back to devonmonk's goals strategy: setting reachable goals and shooting for the moon and trying to land in between. This year's already set up to be a great year -- a huge, life-changing year -- and I'm excited for the possibilities.

--

Edit: I forgot to wish jimhines a happy book birthday! The Mermaid's Madness is officially out today. (I got my copy last week and loved it.)

Comments

[dcopulsky.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday!

I used to be really jealous of J.T. LeRoy because his bio always said that he was first published when he was 16, but then it turned out J.T. LeRoy is not a real person.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Don't you hate it when you realize you're competing against a fictional character? (Or, you know, a hoax. *g*)

[tltrent.livejournal.com]

Happy belated!

I'd hate to think the expiration date for prodigy is at 30, though. ;)

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Honestly, it may have been 35 that the writer used in that long-ago-article -- which is why I really wanted to find it and link back to it today. I mean, it'd be nice to know if he thought I had five more years... :)

[stargatedragon.livejournal.com]

piffle on the actual years!

it's not the years, it's the mileage!!!

(creaking noise)

that's just me weary old bones...

*limps off into sunset*

;)

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Ha! (I suppose if you've got to limp off somewhere, sunset is a good choice of location!)

[holmes-iv.livejournal.com]

You may be running out of young, but you can be hot for as long as you like! ;-)

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't worry -- I don't intend to leave hot behind any time soon. ;)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It can feel good to exit the window of "hot young thing" -ness. Takes the pressure off.

I'm glad you feel happy where you are in life--that's as it should be. It's not that you're complacent--you're not: you've got things you're working on, improvements you want to make, etc. But you're happy--and that's good!

Happy belated birthday!

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

You've understood me exactly -- thanks for that! :) It's nice to be content overall.

[violetwhisper.livejournal.com]

I was just watching old Doogie Howser reruns (oh, that Neil Patrick Harris!), and something very relevant to this post happened – Doogie realized that soon, as he is already 18, he will stop being the child prodigy doctor. But what he also realized is that he will always remain....a doctor. And you, my love, will also leave behind the young prodigy writer moniker at some point, but you will always be a writer. And a damn hot one at that!

(Also, I'm betting the writer of that article was in his mid-life crisis, and wanted people to share the hurt! :P)

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Ha! The article writer may well have been. I think his point was actually that the moniker is somewhat arbitrary and misleading -- and isn't it better to be a hot writer with staying power than it is to wow the crowd with your debut? I think he actually was a hot young writer at 29 or so (nearly at the edge of the scope) and was disgruntled that all the short stories he'd had published, all the work he'd done before his novel came out, was completely discounted in favor of celebrating his "overnight" success. I really wish I could have found the article, because obviously, it had impact when I read it!

But yes, anyway, I've been readjusting my idea of myself ever since I started hanging out with you younger folk and stopped being even the middle of my social crowd in age. :)

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday--I hope you have a terrific year!

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm expecting good things. :)

[lyster.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday!

I was remarking to Nat this morning that one of the great things about being a writer is that, unlike mathematicians and world conquerors, you're not over the hill after 25.

Oh, and for that matter, Genghis Khan may have conquered the Mongols by his 30s, but it took him another 20 years to conquer most of the known world. So it's not even true for conquerors.

Enjoy the birthday, and in 2 years don't forget to hold an "Alexander the Great is Dead!" party.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness we're not playing basketball or baseball. Or worse yet, gymnastics! Talk about careers with short age spans!

[indigo-shift.livejournal.com]

I'm late (as usual) but: Happy Birthday!

Sounds to me like you're on the right track--doing what you love, regardless of what others think. I'll be 40 next spring, and I'm just now shrugging off others' expectations and doing what I should've been doing for the past 20 years.

So you're ahead of the game. :)

--Adam