Growing

   I mentioned in my last post that I am currently reading Eragon, by Christoper Paolini. It has been out for a long time and he has written a few more books in the series. I remember people talking about what a great book it is.
    It's a good book. It's holding my interest. The story is not unusual and the writing isn't exceptional. There's nothing really phenomenal about it, except for why people talked so much about it:  it was written by a nineteen-year-old.
    That fact is more incredible to a writer than to the average reader. Even great writers could not write so well at that age, no matter what age they started writing. It takes most of us decades of writing consistently and learning how to improve before we can produce the kind of writing in Eragon.
     What is really making me want to finish this book is so I can read the next one. Because the next book is sure to be better, and the next one better than that. And I love to see how writers grow and improve with experience.
    I remember being very aware of this in Jim Butcher's Dresden series. I don't think the first Harry Dresden book was Butcher's first novel, but it was truly great. Even so, I noticed a marked improvement in the writing - all aspects of it - in the next few books. And they just keep getting better.
     Another example is Charlaine Harris, best known for her Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Novels. They are consistently great. But she published two mystery series before starting Sookie; the Shakespeare Series and the Aurora Teagarden books. I've read all of them and, even from the perspective of one of her biggest fans, the Shakespeare books are mediocre. The Aurora Teagarden books are good, but not anything special. But again, I loved seeing the author's growth as a writer over the years.
     It's important to keep in mind that no matter where we are in our profession and what our skill level is, we can continue to grow and get better if we keep learning and practicing.  This is true for writing or anything else.  Sometimes it's hard to see our own improvement, so being able to recognize it others can keep us inspired.

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