Youngblood Hawke is a classic work by the classic novelist, Herman Wouk. Another novelist, Angela Hunt, suggested I read this when I was still trying to get my first novel published. It’s the rise and fall of a young writer and is very informative about the nature of writing and publishing.
I came upon this quote in the novel recently and marveled how it sums up my daily thoughts about my personal writing journey:
“Hawke had two views of himself and his work: one, that he was an industrious nobody, a grinder of words, who failed on every page, let alone in every book, to say what was on his mind, and who with great good luck had managed to find a sale for his concoctions; the second, that he belonged in the company of great authors, and that he would show his true stature once he achieved independence from money problems.”