Some days I feel down and think, “This is taking forever, this whole getting-better-at-writing thing. And I’m still not quite making a living at it. How much more? How much longer? I’m so tired of working my ass off. What am I doing wrong? What can I do better?” And so on. You know the drill.

On days like these I find it most inspiring to read a biography of a writer who made it. Or watch a movie about them. 

Most recently it was Bohemian Rhapsody for me. And although it wasn’t a biography of...