It's a long road to success

by: Garry Pierrepont (23 November 2015)

I read in the Telegraph online that Penguin are publishing some of Truman Capote's early works. These are 14 stories written before the author (1924-1984) turned 20.

Capote's more famous works include Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood.

The Telegraph review, 'Truman Capote's early stories show a young genius at work', speculates whether authors should keep their early works under wraps – or even 'shred the evidence'.

That is not say that the reviewer, Sam Kitchener, believes the work to be unworthy of publication, but the stories that had been published before had only been so in his school's magazine. In fact, Kitchener says: "There is certainly plenty in Capote's Early Stories to make aspiring writers, teenage or otherwise, wonder what they're doing with their lives."

I remember hearing author Ian Rankin, when asked about his success, saying that he had written various novels before anything was accepted by a publisher. He reckoned you needed to write about a million words before you produced anything that was any good!

So, if you are an aspiring writer – of whatever age – the message is clear: don't put it off any longer; get writing now!

And when you've had your first attempt, send it to us at WriteItClearly.com for a proofread!

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