Is Good Writing a Talent?

I strongly believe writing is a skill and skills can be learned. Writing is a form of communication:  a way to tell a story and to share information with another person. Good writing communicates its message in a clear, easily understandable way. A well organized grocery list is an effective piece of writing.

So many people are put off by the thought that one must have talent to write well, but if you think about it, that just does not make much sense. If I am asked to write a book report, and I convince you that I have read the book and know the plot, characters and author’s intent, then my writing has done exactly what it was supposed to do.

The secret is to make that essay easy to read and presentable. To do that, you need to know basic skills; how to read a book, how to organize what you know, and how to build sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into a paper. You also need to know how to choose the best words and how to share your opinion effectively. That is not talent, but knowledge.

If you really think about it, talent is simply that magic ingredient that lies in the recipe; if you make a cake by the rules, you will, nine times out of ten, get a good cake. If you are inspired to throw in an extra “something” to add your own personal touch, the cake could be extraordinary, a culinary coup.

I honestly think talent is the ability to define the world from one’s own perspective, the uniqueness of one’s vision. And, while we all seem to be so similar, we all have a unique story to tell. So, by my definition, we all have talent. Maybe we just don’t know how to use it.