Are you an original?
A couple of days ago, whilst waiting in the car for my husband, with the window wound down in the futile hope that my rampant children might escape, I overheard a passing conversation. "She literally refers to herself as the next J K Rowling. I mean, that's ego. That's real ego." I don't know how this conversation began. Did 'she' refer to herself as the next J K because she was going to make lots of money, be famous, become a successful, prolific writer, or all three? I have no idea. 'She' could have been an annoying work colleague or a respected sibling. I don't know whether the speaker was criticising or admiring 'She'. It's so easy to make a judgement, especially when you have a writerly imagination. The aspect of the overheard comment that made me prick up my ears however was this. As a writer, should we/do we aspire to be a version of another writer? Did the aforementioned 'she' see herself as J K Rowling .2? I...