Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and Tipping Point, discusses writing and doing what you love:
“I really love writing, in a totally uncomplicated way. When I was in high school, I ran track and in the beginning I thought of training as a kind of necessary evil on the way to racing. But then, the more I ran, the more I realized that what I loved was running, and it didn’t much matter to me whether it came in the training form or the racing form. I feel the same way about writing. I’m happy writing anywhere and under any circumstances and in fact I’m now to the point where I’m suspicious of people who don’t love what they do in the same way.”
So does he just crank out a quick draft and turn it in? Ummm, not quite.
“So do I work hard on my writing? Well, yes. But not that hard. I’m a five- or six-draft kind of person, not a 10- or 12-draft kind of person. Plus, I write for the New Yorker, so I have an entire army of high-IQ fact checkers, and editors and copy editors working with me.”
Gladwell discusses writing and sports with ESPN’s Bill Simmons. Hat tip to Matt.
Who knew this curly-haired genius is also a sports freak?
BTW, he’s also started a blog.