GOOD WRITERS BORN OR MADE?
Guest blogger Anne Barton, asked the readers on Seekerville to express their opinions about whether good writers are born, or made. Nurture and environment being the key. Hmm.
An exciting exchange started up immediately. Since I'd never given the subject much thought, it was fun to read the comments of other writers; to see what each one attributed to a persons ability or desire to write stories for people who love to read.
Being opinionated me, I decided to expound on that thought. My belief is that writing can be taught, if the person wanting to learn how to write will accept some facts.
The basic laws or rules of grammar are all we really need to write well. And I say, "whew, thank goodness" for that. If someone told me today I had to diagram a sentence or be beat with a two-by-four, I'd take the beating. It's helpful to have a creative imagination. But That too, can be learned. Awareness of things around you can spark your imagination. Give yourself the time and leisure of what I call "play thinking." As a photographer for many years, it was during "play thinking" that I came up with new poses.
Play thinking is a time of relaxing and letting the mind examine detail, to recall things you've seen and done or seen someone else do, and you ask what if...? And, hey this is fiction, the sky's the limit! Play thinking time is guilt free. No excuses!
Another fact is that any learned craft deserves the time required to learn it. I don't want a doctor with only six months training doing my operation. You learn a little, it's exciting! You learn more stuff, you start getting pumped, this is fun! Right about then you learn something else, and that's how much more you still have to learn. Don't get discouraged, if you can learn a little, you can learn a lot. A little, a lot, it's all from the same brain. And one day you've mastered it—well, you could.
Another fact;
wanting to be a writer, and being a writer is two different things.
Wanting to
be a writer is easy. All you do is talk about when you get the time someday, sit at your computer and play on Facebook two hours, and write thirty minutes, repeat this step all day.
Being a writer means
making the time to write, and seeking help from those who have 'been there done that.' Be patient, take the time that's required. Take criticism and grow. If everyone ( usually friends and family ) loves your first attempts... they're not being truthful to you–they love you! Sorry. There's a crude saying popular with writers, BIC which is 'behind in chair.' It's a known fact, people can't read a story that's still in your head.
I can't recommend highly enough the writers at Seekerville.
http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/
Each day of the week a different writer is invited to guest post. I've yet to see a post that I didn't learn something to move me forward in my writing goal, which is of course... holding my novel in my hand and wiping the drool off the cover.
