I'm dense when it comes to discouragement.
When I have an idea, it goes from vague, cloudy notion to 100,000 words in a heartbeat.
One of my great passions is the collection of historical trivia.
Ideas aren't magical; the only tricky part is holding on to one long enough to get it written down.
That bedrock faith that I could write was what blinded me to attempts to discourage me.
It's possible to become so comfortable with one's style and structure that one ceases to grow.