It’s Wednesday of my New York adventure/whirlwind and wow is it great to be here. New York! Must you be so awesome and tempt me back every time I visit you?
Meanwhile, this topic has been percolating in some of the recent posts and we addressed a variation of it in the past, but I thought I’d raise it here.
Can anyone with enough practice be a good writer? What about a great writer? Is there a part of writing that is innate or can it be learned by anyone?
Najela says
Personally, I think that writing or anything for that matter is a combination of 3 things; talent, experience, and passion. Experience and passion can be cultivated. Talent and Experience might cause your writing to be good, but lack passion. Passion and Talent can get you far, but there's a certain point in time where you need the experience to write. To be a great writer, you need to broaden your horizons by experiencing new things, cultivate a passion for something that you're good at, but talent is something innate. Some people are good at singing, others are good at other things. Just because you don't have the talent doesn't mean it can't be done but you have to work harder at it than someone who it comes to naturally.
I think passion is the most important though.
Jess Haines says
With enough time, dedication, and hard work, I would say, yes, anyone can be a good writer.
A great writer? I'll have to think on that one.
JDuncan says
My immediate response to this is no. I thought I might change my mind after thinking about this for a moment, that maybe with enough drive and practice that anyone could do it, but there are so many factors that go into someone being a good, much less a great writer.
I believe it requires a certain amount of innate creative talent to write a good story. Some folks just don't have it, no matter how hard they may try. Their brains just aren't wired up that way. This isn't a slam on them. People are good a great variety of things and have natural talents in certain areas more than others. For better or worse, some people can't/won't be good writers no matter how much they try and/or practice.
It's such an intangible combination of things that puts passion, talent, and technique together to create a good story. There's no way to place a definitie statement upon it. And going from the level of good to great is even more difficult to pin down. Most good writers will not be great. Much like most musicians won't be virtuosos or any other artist will become a master. It's far beyond just being taught and spending endless hours at the craft. It takes something special to be a good writer and something far rarer to be great, all subjectivity aside.
L. T. Host says
Wow, you can tell we're all writers, here. Look at all the analogies… music, sports, etc., haha.
Bane of Anubis says
What defines good? Yesterday's good might not be today's and vice-versa… So, if you practice long enough, you might be good enough for yesterday, but might not be laughed at today (e.g., underhand free-throw)
Ink says
Bane,
"So, if you practice long enough, you might be good enough for yesterday, but might be laughed at today" = Lakers.
🙂
Jabez says
No. Most can become servicable, some can become good, and a precious few can become truly great. Talent not only affects where on the spectrum you start and how fast you improve, but also how high you can get.
And I think there's a pernicious element to the myth that anyone can become good at writing (or anything else) with enough work. It's the implicit idea that if someone ISN'T good, it's because they just didn't want it badly enough or didn't work at it hard enough. As if their failure were a personal failing. While there is certainly a lot of squandered potential on this planet, and that includes writing potential, not all failures are from wasted potential. Some are from lack of potential.
Jess Anastasi says
It seems many people think the answer to this question is a 'yes' with an added 'if you have the passion and are willing to work.'
I think this is pretty black and white, really. Not everyone can draw. Not everyone can read sheet music and play and instrument. Not everyone can take a computer apart and put it back together or make new programs.
So, no. Not everyone can write. We all have different talents and strengths. Maybe someone might want to be a writer, but whether or not they can do it is a different matter. For myself, I love singing, but I can barely hold a note. I would have loved nothing more than to be able to sing like Kelly Clarkson, but I wasn't gifted with that ability.
I think we need to be able to face the reality of our talents and if maybe we're unable to do something we might otherwise love, we just have to accept it as truth.
Amber says
I'm not going to give the black and white 'yes, with hard work…' Not everyone is born with an innate desire to write and work hard to become a great writer. I think the biggest part of being a writer, the biggest part of a writer's talent, is having simple passion. The people who often give up writing believe they are giving it up because they lack the skills for it, but they're really giving it up because they suddenly lost passion over a few (and in some cases, a lot) of rejections. But there are plenty of writers out there who find they cannot get their first book a home, but they still go onto write another book. And it's usually that second book that lands them something. It does take talent, to a certain degree, but this rest is hard work, and not everyone is willing to do that hard work. Like Jess said, not everyone can write. I know to hell I cannot sing, and I never will. If a person naively believes that hard work will make me a great singer, that person is dead wrong. You have to be born with a voice to hone. My voice is, for lack of a better word, "un-honable." There are some things you cannot be taught, some things you have to learn on your own. And writing is one of them. You just have to have the talent and skill to learn them on your own.
Anonymous says
My view is an unqualified maybe. The part of writing that can be learned can be good enough to be a great writer. The part of writing that comes from talent is inherent in social beings. But bringing out that talent in a way that appeals to a large audience requires insight, inspiration, and perspiration, or fortunate chance happenstance.
An example by way of the previous topic, Vampires and other revenant characters have evolved in literature but still have the same foundational bases, that they're metaphors for the social anxieties of an era. At one time vampires, perhaps Braham Stoker's Dracula, were a metaphor for the life's blood sucking leeches of European society, the ne'er do well of the elite gentry who did little for the greater good, instead just thrived on the larger society's productiveness. Living dead parasitically living off the living. Zombies as the indifferent mob.
Yet those analagous symbolisms with which readers intuitively or consciously identify don't seem purposeful in the also ran stories that don't rise to the top. The ones that do, well, they seem to be written by authors who are conscious or intuitively aware of the metahpors, motifs, tropes, themes, sympbolisms of revenant literature.
Nick says
Can anyone be a good writer? Yes. Like with anything else, with a lot of hard work and dedication. I can be a good midfielder if I work my arse off and practice, practice, practice, but I will never approach the skill of Stevie G (pardon the footy references; only sport I follow closely). To be a great writer, or a great anything really, one has to both work hard and have an innate talent for the craft.
Of course that's just my haypenny.
JM Prescott says
Najela said… "…writing or anything for that matter is a combination of 3 things; talent, experience, and passion." I agree. A great writer has all three. If a passionate writer works hard they can easily outshine a talented writer who never challenges herself. But no matter how hard the untalented work and care, they can never surpass the skill of someone who has all three.
Fawn Neun says
GOOD writer? Yes.
GREAT writer? No.
CKHB says
No, it's not just about practice, it's about attitude.
People who watch So You Think You Can Dance will remember a man who called himself Sexx (yes, really) who auditions every year. He thinks he is brilliant. He is wrong. He is, in fact, awful. But I'm sure he practices every day… according to HIS rules and HIS standards and HIS style. And every year, he disagrees with the judges and tells them they're just not appreciating him. One year his MOTHER showed up to scold the judges with him. It is all so very sad, and he will NEVER learn because ultimately I think he doesn't WANT to learn. He doesn't have the right attitude.
I think some people are born with the ability to be great, and this quality may well be innate. But not everyone need be the literary equivalent of Baryshnikov in order to be a happy and successful writer. Those with good attitudes can become GOOD ENOUGH — and the amount of innate talent you start out with just changes how much work you have to do to get from start to finish.
Gretchen says
Absolutely. If I didn't believe that, I would probably have to quit right now. Also, as a teacher, I have seen so many writers improve so much through hard work…it just makes sense to me.
lette says
I'm so glad you're in NYC Mr. Bransford. I live here and I'm in the process of querying you any day now.
Personally, I feel that anyone can write, but "good" writing, that is to say, writing that keeps you turning the pages, is innate. People can be great at writing, but it cannot be learned UNLESS it is first loved. Technical writing can be learned, but not creative writing.
Reesha says
It's like asking if anyone can live well.
Part of being a good writer means they have to be in touch with life and people around them in a way that no one else is. So can you live well?
There also is a difference between asking "Can anyone be a good writer?" and "Can anyone be a successful writer?"
Cameron says
I suppose I could be a *good* sushi chef if I went to Japanese culinary school and trained with the finest in Tokyo; I could also be a good plumber if I trained, received my license and put in endless effort to be the best. Therefore, with the right amount of acumen, experience and exposure to successful writers, perhaps *anyone* can be a good writer. The best writers, however, may be those who live and breathe it, who love it, nuture it, and are nurtured by the craft.
Lydia Sharp says
That's funny…I thought your link would take me here, or here, or maybe even here. *shrugs* Guess I'm not a mind-reading ninja like Natalie.
J. Bookman says
I believe anyone can theoretically become a good writer, but I warn anyone hoping to refute this, that the post turned out to be more of a discussion/exploration of the idea than an authoritative statement.
I will skip the mechanics of writing part of being a good writer, since it seems self-evident to me that anyone can learn the mechanics of a language as well as he or she can learn the mechanics of a car or riding a bicycle.
I think of writing and art as noticing and sharing what you notice. A lot of times, art puts that which we see every day and may or may not notice in a new light, renewing and revitalizing our experiences of life. Whether it is noticing the space between branches, or noticing that one spends an awful lot of time doing X Y and Z to project a self image, artists (and subsequently writers) are noticers. I am certain not _everyone_ can learn this, but I would argue that anyone with an average intelligence/psychological competence — the standard equipment — can refine this fundamental ability. One way we refine this ability is through reading and appreciating artwork.
Some interesting writers write primarily in a second language, and it forces them to notice things differently, and express them in new ways for which native of speakers have ready-made language (cliches and things like that), that is stale and lifeless. Similarly, great scientists sometimes have poor verbal skills, especially at a young age, and thus are less influenced by conventional wisdom. Their ability to notice results in scientific breakthroughs.
Bane of Anubis says
Bryan, it's starting to look that way… got to scrap into OT to scrape by OKC… not good. Well, hopefully Boston'll flame out early and LA and CLE will hit their stride 6 months from now 🙂
Grimmster24 says
My "short" answer, Nathan, is yes, "good writing" can certainly be achieved. I'd say it depends on whether or not a writer's goal is to simply write, or write to get published. For someone who isn't being published, it's (of course) in the eye of the writer and reader. For someone trying to get published, it seems mainly up to the editor, and, after a writer becomes very well known, readers. I'd say the same for the "great" writers. Either one DOES take practice, persistence, a thick skin, and a willingness to adapt and compromise.
Enjoy NYC!
Victoria says
There's a fine line between this question and last week's, 'You Tell me,' about talent vs hard work.
The answer by almost everyone last week seemed to be that talent wasn't necessarily required. Then this week, the consensus seems to be (thus far) that anyone can be a good writer, but not everyone can be a great writer.
So, if I'm reading opinions correctly, does this mean generally anyone can make the mid-list with a bit of hard work, but you need talent to be read by millions?
Just throwing that thought out there…
For me, I don't think anyone can write. I do think talent is required, whether it is for a magazine, a blog or a novel. First you need talent, then commitment, then the ability to keep trudging forward against the odds. To me, the ability to keep working and honing the craft is more important than talent.
So, providing you have the base magic to work with, then I think you can be a good writer or even a great writer depending on how much work you put in.
Jen C says
I don't agree with the theory that everyone can be talented at everything with enough practice. Where would be the fun in that? The beauty of the human race is that everyone has different skills and different talents.
So no, I don't think anyone could be a good writer. Just like I don't think everyone could compose symphonies and anyone could invent the nuclear bomb.
Judy Copek says
My creative writing teacher told the class, "I cannot teach you to write well, but I can teach you to write not badly."
Anna L. Walls says
I certainly hope so.
P.A.Brown says
I think with lots of practice — years to my mind — a person can become a decent writer. I'm not sure everyone can become a great writer. I think that's like anyone can learn to sing, and a few can become professional singers, but only a tiny amount of singers become great. It's two parts hard work and practice and one part an unknown and unknowable magic or gift that some have.
Kimmily says
I think the profession of writing is similar to acting or cooking. Can you learn to act or cook or write better? Of course. A few people in these professions have a special quality that is innate and cannot be learned. Most are good and a few are on bay watch, or flipping burgers, but still get paid.
Tabitha says
I would have to say no, not just anyone can be a good writer. And even less can be great writers. But not because of a lack of innate talent.
I am a firm believer that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. You just have to have the insane desire to work hard, as hard as it takes, in order to succeed.
To be a good writer, you have to make a serious commitment to learn the craft. To be a great writer, that commitment is beyond insane.
So, no, not everyone can be good (not even those with natural talent) because not everyone is willing to put in the necessary effort. But those who have that gut-wrenching, masochistic, bang-your-head-against-the-wall desire, these are the people who will be good. Perhaps even great.
thoughtful1 says
Go, Jabez! What a thought that anyone can be a good writer. It's like singing or playing an instrument: you can train and be skilled, but only some are inspired. Well, maybe that is Great Writing. Good writing may be like a trained vocalist. Pleasant to experience, but not necessarily a memorable experience.
Go Phils! Had to say that since you are maybe at the game tonight? That is my heart speaking not my head.
Carolyn B says
Not just "anyone". Working in a public library I see people everyday who can't string two sentences together verbally, let alone write a coherent paragraph. But if the question is can anyone with an average amount of intelligence and a huge amount of determination and persistence become a good writer, I would have to say yes. It's like my friend, who took lessons for years, still practices every day, and plays the piano at church every Sunday is a good piano player. There are other pianists who are better. Some who are great. But she is good, because she works at it every day, and enjoys doing it.
Can a good writer become a great writer someday, if she keeps trying? Maybe. But not unless she enjoys the practice and rejoices in each brief Sunday morning success.
Kaitlyne says
I think anyone (well, I could make a caveat there, but I'm generalizing) could potentially become a very good and potentially great writer.
The part that most people lack is not so much talent, imo, but love of writing, drive, willingness to learn, patience to work hard, and an ability to admit mistakes and learn from them.
Those are all traits that it takes to become great at almost any field, however. If you don't love writing, you won't have the motivation to continue. If you lack the drive and patience even if you're the most talented person in the world you probably won't get very far.
I think learning from mistakes and the willingness to seek out information to improve oneself is the most important aspect of this, and it's true of everyone. There isn't a single person out there in the entire course of history who wrote so perfectly that they couldn't have improved.
I actually think that for the vast majority of people (discounting the tiny sliver at the far right side of our bell curve) this is the *only* way to be a good writer.
I would also like to say, however, that a lot of this depends on having good teachers and good instruction in school. I used to work in a college writing lab and we had students who couldn't put together a coherent sentence. It wasn't because they weren't smart or because they didn't have great ideas. They just had no idea how to take those ideas and put them onto paper. I have seen many of those people improve with proper instruction and be able to write passable college essays and what not. The main failing? The poor teachers who had not taught them these very basic skills years before.
june says
When I saw the title to this post, I had to look at it two or three times after blinking. I had just finished writing a post on my own blog along the same lines. I think this topic is on the wave length that it is because as I noted, so many people are attempting to get published.
Agent email inboxes are filled to the brim with submissions. Apparently, most of it is wildly inappropriate. I believe most people can be better writers than they are presently, given enough practice and training. Can anyone be a good writer? Probably not. Some people lack the propensity to express themselves well via the written word. It's nothing to be ashamed of. No one can do everything well. Just because someone can read, write and spell doesn't not mean they are cut out to be a published author. It may not be their area of strength.
The hardest part for the aspiring author is probably admitting that to him or herself and accepting that. Especially, if they have dreams of big money, fame and celebrity dancing in their heads.
Avida Novitatis says
I think some people are doomed by the way their brains are structured to be not just not good writers, but bad writers. Even if they master written English by dint of hard work, what they write will be boring and off-putting to read. I think it's better for everyone concerned if such people focus on something they're actually good at instead of on trying to write, unless they just write for fun and have absolutely no expectations of getting anything more out of it.
Sorry if that's a bleak outlook, but that's what my observations have taught me, after having worked in a proofreading/editing/tutoring capacity in various jobs over the years.
Whirlochre says
The answer is YES.
Anyone can learn to be a writer — just as anyone can learn to play the piano or learn to let a piano play them.
The question is — how long will it take?
If you figure you can get it done in 70 years, become a writer.
If not — hey, why not follow up this aptitude you have for fixing people's electrics or mobbing the local 'hood with your badass buddies?
Em-Musing says
I never read my daughters books at night. I told them stories.
Anyone can read and perhaps write a story. But few have visions of other worlds that can transport a listener/reader to places and events that span time, the universe and the imagination.
Elizabeth Varadan aka Mrs. Seraphina says
I think if you have the urge to write, you probably have the innate talent. People who don't have the urge are busy pursuing other callings.
But whether everyone with talent is willing to go through the long process of developing it is another question.
Elle says
Can anyone be good? No.
Can anyone be passable? Yes.
I played highly competitive soccer for 18 years and recently graduated from a collegiate national championship team. I played in the Olympic development youth programs at many levels and was recruited to play semi-pro out of school.
I also played on my high school's team, for fun, with a lot of girls who really wanted to play and tried very hard, but we still lost most every game, every season.
What I learned in the arena of talent, competition, hard work and defining who is good and great is this:
1. Talent is important.
In a culture that leans towards giving everyone a ribbon for trying, now, first place and talent has lost some of it's prominence, but none of its shine. Everyone might get a trophy, but people really only remember who won – because that person/team knew the mechanics, yes, but because they made it poetry.
2. Everyone can play, but only some get to do it in front of the big crowds.
Anyone can become passable at something with hard work and detrmination, but the higher you go, the better the competition, and the harder it is to stand out. One thing that was very apparent to me in sports was this: eveyone could find a team to play on. Some would make it on to really good teams with hard work. When it was time for college, to be picked from the masses – every person picked to be at that next level had talent. Some more than others, but it was absolutley requisite.
3. Hard work and determination are important. They help you reach some of your goals. They help talented people reach their potential in front of the biggest of audiences. People who don't have 'it' – talent – have more humble successes.
Anyone can learn to write, learn the mechanics, get that word count, and refine thier novel. Those who are passable will feel accomplished. Their friends and family will enjoy their work. They might even be the envy of their writing group (big fish in a small pond), but if they don't have that something, that tiny bit of magic, that talent, that's probably as far a they'll ever go.
Hard work + determination + perseverance + talent = the people who have a shot at being a big fish in a lake or ocean.
And no, talent alone won't do it. Those who are genius, but never do anything, never accomplish anything.
Elle
Etiquette Bitch says
No, not everyone can be a good (or great!) writer.
But, seemingly, if you can move paper, any idiot can get published.
Laura Martone says
As Anton Ego says in RATATOUILLE:
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read.
But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.
The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.
It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.
Shelby says
The answer is quite simply, no.
Next question? Yes, you – guy in the back with the glasses..
Laura Martone says
Of course, ol' Anton was sacked shortly after the world discovered that the chef in question was a rat, but you get the idea…
Mandajuice says
Nathan, I hope you'll tally up these responses and see if there's a consensus.
Having taught several foreign languages as well as English, I would say ABSOLUTELY NOT. Not everyone thinks in words. Those who don't would be disinclined to ever even TRY to become good writers, much less put in the time commitment to make it happen.
By analogy – I'll never be a great artist. I'm sure that given enough practice and instruction, I could rise above drawing stick figures, but the process would be torture for me. I'm sure there are plenty of people who feel that way about words.
Laura Martone says
To quote Grady Tripp, one of my literary heroes:
Nobody teaches a writer anything. You tell them what you know. You tell them to find their voice and stick with it, because that's all you have in the end. You tell the ones who have it to keep at it and you tell the ones who don't to keep at it, too. Because that's the only way to get where you're going. Of course, it helps if you know where you want to go.
Anonymous says
No, definitely not. Bad writers can get better, just like good writers, but good writers only very rarely become great writers. To become a great writer, you need talent, drive, discipline, etc, but you also need to have something important to say–and the ability to say it in a way that startles, amuses, and/or shakes people up.
Wanda B. Ontheshelves says
A fake word, whose meaning is the opposite of "aloha"
I'd like to say "ohhellno," but that's not very polite…though I feel that way…I like the description of the early Beatles in Hamburg, playing set after set after set…
"They were absolutely legless."
That's how a feel a great anything comes into being…you have to go through a legless phase…
Hannah Jenny says
I don't think you can teach just anyone to be a good writer, although I hope that anyone could learn to communicate their ideas on paper with some degree of effectiveness.
My main reason for thinking that the "you can teach anyone to be a good writer" people are wrong is that those I have had closest contact with–i.e. people who wrote my high school grammar books–seemed to think that they knew what rules and procedures needed to be taught to make someone a good writer, and, well, these people couldn't write to save their lives!!
Anonymous says
No, definitely not. Bad writers can get better, just like good writers, but good writers only very rarely become great writers. To become a great writer, you need talent, drive, discipline, etc, but you also need to have something important to say–and the ability to say it in a way that startles, amuses, and/or shakes people up.
Laura Martone says
So, I guess from the quotes above, it's pretty clear that I feel anyone who wants to write well should at least try.
I agree with most of you that, while becoming a better writer is possible for most of us, becoming a truly amazing writer is more of a rarity. It takes innate talent, fierce passion and perseverance, incredible determination and fortitude in the face of rejection, and a little thing I like to call timing and/or luck.
So, no, not everyone is destined to be a great writer (whether published or not is an altogether different matter). But then again, who's a truly good enough critic to judge what will work for some and not for others? Or better yet, what stories will live on through the ages?
As for me, I'm not sure what I am yet… but I'm definitely not a quitter, and that's a start.
Meghan Ward says
Stephen King said (I think it was in On Writing) that anyone can be a good writer, but not everyone can be a great writer. I think there's truth to that. A LOT can be learned by writing every day and studying the craft, but there's something innate about being a GREAT writer.