But maybe, probably, we were wrong. Certainly, there was something disingenuous about our pretending not to care. Of course we had goals and ambitions and lots of people pedalled desperately to achieve them beneath the surface, while maintaining a nonchalant, “no revision” front above the waterline. Creating the illusion that success just happened did anyone who struggled or came up against a succession of closed doors a disservice (possibly some gen X strugglers were also somewhat obtuse – I was sad for years that I wasn’t a writer before eventually realising that successful writers wrote all the time rather than drifting around having vague ideas and not acting on them). This new notion of “showing your working” and being transparent about effort is refreshingly honest: the career equivalent of crediting your cosmetic surgeon, rather than claiming it’s all good genes and water.