When Is Obsession a Good Thing?
By Deanna Cabinian | June 23, 2022 |
Many stories have been written on the topic of obsession: The Girl on the Train, Lolita, Moby Dick…the list goes on. Most of these are cautionary tales. Don’t get obsessed; it could lead to mayhem and self-destruction. But sometimes obsession can be beneficial.
Recently, I watched the Adam Sandler movie Hustle. Though it has its humorous moments, it’s definitely in the “serious Adam Sandler movie” category. It’s about an NBA scout looking for a standout player so he can cement his status as a coach on the team after decades of work (often grueling with constant travel). He finds his prospect in Spain. As they’re training together he says, “Obsession beats talent every time.”
As a writer that line stood out to me. As a person it stood out, too.
Sometime in 2007 I got it in my head that I wanted to run a 5K. I had never done well in fitness testing in school. In fact, I often finished last in the mile run challenge. I once ran a 14-minute mile. For most people, that’s walking. I was not fast, even though I played team sports. But a 5K goal seemed achievable. Most of my family and friends thought I was nuts. Why would I want to run 3.1 miles? And time it? To this day, I have no idea. But I became obsessed with this goal.
I read Runner’s World. I found a plan called 5 weeks to your first 5K. I followed the plan, 90% of the time. I found a running buddy. And it worked. I ran the 5K and didn’t finish last. I ran several more after that. At my fitness peak, I even completed a half-marathon, a distance I have no desire to run again.
Why am I telling you this? Because it’s similar to our journeys as writers. I believe every writer is talented but certainly there are degrees of talent. The one thing that sets writers apart from the rest of the population who aspire to write a book, essay, magazine piece, etc. is that they sit down and do it. The words might be garbage on the first draft, but they just go for it. Time and time again.
If writing is important to you, it doesn’t matter how talented you are. It matters how interested you are, how often you throw words against the page. Handwritten, typed, or otherwise.
It matters how much you persevere, even when you don’t feel like writing a thing.
It matters if you put words to paper, even if it’s just 5 words a day or 3 words a year.
You are a writer because you show up. Showing up is the action part of the obsession. Over time that obsession will manifest itself into talent.
It’s why I’ve sent hundreds of query letters. (I eventually got an agent).
It’s why I’m writing even though I don’t necessarily feel like it. (I’m recovering from a breakthrough case of Covid).
So go ahead. Obsess sometimes. I think a little obsession is healthy for all of us. Sometimes it even improves your cardiovascular fitness.
Over to you, WU community. What do you think is more important: an obsession with writing, or talent? How do you know when something has become an obsession?
Deanna Cabinian is the author of One Night, One Love, and One Try (aka The Thompson Series). She writes YA, middle grade, and sometimes dabbles in adult fiction. Her writing has appeared in Writer’s Digest, Writer Unboxed, and School Library Journal. She is a graduate of the Writing in the Margins mentorship program and is represented by Penny Moore of Aevitas Creative Management. When she isn’t writing she works as a consumer marketing director for a global media company. She lives in the Midwest but dreams of living by the ocean. Find her online at deannacabinian.com.
[coffee]
Obsession with writing, for sure. Talent is often subjective and fleeting. What’s “hot” today might be lukewarm, at best, next year. Obsessing, not with the details per se, but with the very act of showing up and giving it all you got, is what will win the day. Everyone’s voice is unique and has the ability to reach the person who needs to hear it most, but that cannot happen until we return to the page and finish something.
Thanks for reading, Avril! I agree just the act of showing up is so important. You never know who your words will reach!
Hello Deanna. The cage match you bring back for another round–talent versus obsession–won’t ever end, but it’s lost most of its interest for me. Writing talent is real enough. It exists and can’t be dismissed. But it means nothing unless the writer shows up, punches in at the time clock, and gets to work. Or, in your personal example, gets busy training. The word I use instead of obsession is passion, the inner drive to turn feelings and ideas into actual narratives that come alive for others. Without the obsession or passion to bring stories to life, talent is stillborn.
Totally agree, Barry. Talent is important, but doesn’t mean much if the person doesn’t show up and do something about it. Happy writing!
Obsession wins. I would have written anyway – had started on a mystery series meant to occupy my retirement years – but then the story I’m still writing was vouchsafed to me in 2000, and I’m still obsessed: first volume (167K) published 2015, second one will go up as soon as I get the formatting and cover finished (finally!), and I hope it will take fewer years to get the third up and selling.
Obsession keeps you trying for your best – because the story demands it.
And – it’s a story about obsession. It gets a little recursive sometimes, and that’s exactly the way I like it.
Congrats on your second volume, Alicia! And the third when it goes up :) Goals keep us going, I think (or maybe it’s the obsession)!
Obsession, or whatever word you want to use, isn’t the only necessary ingredient, but it’s critical. I often think of the people who don’t have a minute of time to spare each day, yet find ten or twenty for writing while those with the time spend it streaming this, that, and everything else. It isn’t so much choices, but what causes writing to fall to number two (or lower). Quite often, if not almost always, talent is, in truth, the end result of hard work. Hard work looks like learning, practicing, reading. Hard work requires motivation because there’s no daily sales reward. Instead, the reward is internal. I’ve written 12 books that I keep and value, but will never, ever share because they’re awful. I’ve written somewhere in the vicinity of 2.5 million words, none of which I regret. No matter where I finish, I’ve enjoyed the journey.
Writing 12 books is an accomplishment, even if they’ll never be shared. That is great. Agree, something has to motivate you besides the sale, or even a reader. I didn’t appreciate the journey earlier but the more I write & older I get the more I see the journey’s value.
Never thought of it as obsession before, but haha I think there’s something to that…
Great post.
Some speak of a muse flittering about before disappearing for a time; it could be another take on obsession. While the muse is external, an easy scapegoat, obsession burns from within. Obsession, by definition, isn’t easily controlled.
Your post is spot on. Write every day. Perhaps the topic or genre will change, but the act of writing is what keeps us writers.
Looking forward checking out your work.
Thanks for reading, Ina! I wish I wrote every day. I’m averaging about every week. Trying to show up, even when it’s hard/drops on the priority list. Happy reading & writing!
This is marvelous, Deanna. I have always believed that every writer can succeed with enough work, determination, resilience, and persistence, and your post is a wonderful illustration of why. It also reflects something I’m reading in Adam Grant’s wonderful book Give and Take right now about grit–how the elite of so many pursuits aren’t the ones who began with the most talent, but who worked the hardest, wanted it the most, stayed in the game.
Thanks for the post. I’ll be sharing it.