You guys really say nice things. Thank you very much, and please know that I genuinely appreciate your support.
I will agree that I’ve reached a basic level of “mastery,” so perhaps “masterpiece” isn’t the correct word.
I said that because I’m aware of how much more I can improve. If unattainable perfection is 100 and sizzling garbage is 0, then maybe I’m somewhere in the nineties. It’s very good, and trying to improve from 93 to 94 might take longer than going from 70 to 80. But a single percent of improvement at this point actually makes a huge difference to the emotional impact, resonance, and memorability of the story.
I improved a ton while writing my first 5 books (Seeds of Chaos), and then going into A Practical Guide to Sorcery.
Now, I’ve been going back and re-reading PGTS, and I can see that my skill has improved significantly again since writing PGTS 1. While writing PGTS 5, I’ve also been able to tell that I still have improvements to make, but I’m not able to bridge the gap because my level of understanding and skill is too low. I’m just vaguely, hazily aware of my “failure” without truly grasping the whole of it. (To be clear, this is not meant as self-degradation. I love what I write and I’m proud of it, too.)
I think in 5 years, I’ll be able to look back at what I’m writing now and see that my skill has improved again. And sometime after that, I may be able to reach that hazy level of skill that I’m aiming for.
If we were to put this in terms Siobhan might use, I’m trying to become an Archmage. And I’m sure, if I ever manage that, I still won’t be content. But I am having fun with the journey along the way, and am pleased/satisfied as long as I can write the stories I want to write—and keep doing an incrementally better job, both deepening and expanding my capabilities.