Too Old to Be a Writer? 50 is the New 30

I am 43.  I don't feel old but I'm at that point in my life where I need to acknowledge that there are some things I will never do.  Play drums in a Top 40 rock band, for example.  Climb Mount Everest.  Hit a homer out of Brewer stadium.  Win the Indy 500 (or, for that matter, even drive a car over 100 mph).  When I was 20 I would have admitted under duress that the chances of my doing any of these things were small but insisted that it was still possible.  Now I just admit that, no matter how hard I try, I ain't gonna be dancing on stage anytime soon with Britney Spears.

But that leads to the question: what about writing?  Am I too old to embark on this career, become a great writer and soar to the top of the bestseller list?  Maybe, but I'd like to think that the odds against me doing so are related to talent, not age.  (A separate question I'll address in a later blog is the chicken and egg question: whether great writers are born or can be developed).

First of all, I do readily admit that there is a certain bias in some circles to the writer as wunderkind.  Who doesn't like the idea of some 25-year old just out of college penning a masterpiece as if possessed by some writing devil (or angel).  And countless charts track the best writers 'under 40' (generally considered the cutoff between old and young).  Some genres too may be better addressed by youngsters: chicklit, tween romances, some kids books.  Many of us yearn to hear the voice of a generation, including younger generations, and younger writers are assumed by many to have a better finger on the zeitgeist.  

But I beg to differ.  Writing isn't major league baseball after all.  It takes life experience.  It takes craft. It takes perspective. All of which are honed over time.  Of course, great writing also takes talent and creativity and those who assume writers are at their peak when young focus on these aspects.  Young = creative in their view.  But I don't buy it.

For example, some genres are tailor made for the older voice.  Memoir, for example (which is my focus).  I've read a few addiction memoirs penned by youngsters, but overall, the best memoirs I've read have been written by those my age or older.  Those who are able to look back at their life with some perspective.  Some wisdom.  Frank McCourt, my hero, published Angela's Ashes when he was 60 years old or so.

Crime fiction/mystery is another example, at least in the sense that readers of mysteries skew older and are attracted to older voices.  Another hero, Raymond Chandler, wrote The Big Sleep in his 50's.

An interesting article in the NY Times focused on great literature asks the question: how old can a young writer be?  The article also does some seat-of-your pants calculations that the pantheon of great novelists "performed their greatest magic" when young - that is, in their 20's and 30's.  In literary circles it seems that the 30's are considered a writer's golden years, mature enough to leave the mistakes of youth behind but creative and daring enough to chart new ground.

But I like to focus on those who bloom later.  The article lists Joseph Conrad, Virginia Wolf and Henry James as prime examples of authors who hit their stride only in their 40's and beyond.  Of course, I add McCourt and Chandler.  Stephen King, in his memoir/book "On Writing" talks about the effect of age on his writing (he hit the big time at the age of 26 with Carrie), saying that his creativity hasn't suffered but that he is slower now than he used to be (which he attributes to quitting smoking).  Maybe I should try that.

It's possibly wishful thinking, but I like to think that 50 is the new 30.  I agree that as we age the chances of doing anything new diminish, whether that be driving a race car or singing in a rock band.  But I believe that there is hope for those of us who are now older but have spent our lives developing a base: writing (whether or not it is creative writing; in my case it was journalism and legal writing, bleckh!), reading and honing our craft.  

But only time will tell.....