Alice Munro on what she's accomplished by remaining outside of the proverbial fray, from The Paris Review Interviews, Volume II:
Q: What about your confidence? Has that changed over the years?
A: In writing, I've always had a lot of confidence, mixed with a dread that this confidence is entirely misplaced. I think in a way that my confidence came just from being dumb. Because I lived so out of any mainstream, I didn't realize that women didn't become wrtiers as readily as men, and that neither did people from a lower class. If you know you can write fairly well in a town where you've hardly met anyone else who reads, you obviously think this is a rare gift indeed.
Q: So you were glad to be out of the mainstream?
A: This is maybe what I'm trying to say. I probably wouldn't have survived very well otherwise. It may have been that I would lose my confidence when I was with people who understood a lot more than I did about what they were doing. And talked a lot about it. And were confident in a way that would be acknowledged to have a more solid basis than mine. But then, it's very hard to tell about writers -- who is confident?
I've often wondered if my writing would be better served by stepping outside the overly critical, overly analytical, always-ready-for-a-fight blogosphere. Everyone knows so much about craft and what works/doesn't work. Would my writing (and my confidence) be better served away from all the bravado? Away from all the talk among people who know what they are doing? Or, on the flip, has my writing been improved by talking about writing endlessly with many talented, knowledgeable writers, so seemingly full of confidence?
