Chapter 53: The Lost Art of Writing

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chronicle of higher education

“Most people assume that writing is an innate talent, rather than a skill that can be taught.”

That quote can be found in an article written by Jason Breslow for the Chronicle of Higher Education. It’s from a creative-writing professor at Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn College named Joshua Henkin. Do you agree with it?

If you do, why do you think that would be? And why, Breslow asks and Henkin writes, “is writing the only art form that gets singled out? No one complains when a person decides to take music or sculpting lessons, for instance.”

Excellent point. And there’s more in here if you’re interested.

“Writing is unique, [Henkin] argues, because unlike other art forms, people do it everyday, in e-mail messages, diary entries, and memoranda, for example.” Says Henkin himself: "In a typical person's life, there's nothing that approximates violin playing or sculpture, but writing is so close to what we do every day that it seems within our grasp.”

And he goes on to say, "When we actually set our minds to it, when we discover that it's not so easily reached, we decide that it's a gift and therefore not teachable."

But then he throws us a twist. First, Breslow writes, “but good writing has tangible attributes that can and should be taught.” And then Henkin’s own words read, “the teaching of writing is not chimerical…it is not smoke and mirrors, and it seems to me that, on balance, it has been a considerable force for the good."

I may have done barely any actual writing in a blog about writing as an art form, but I found this article fascinating. Can writing be taught, or is it an innate skill? Can you compare it to driving a car, where just about everyone can learn how to accomplish it with the right time and environment, or is it more like playing a sport, where someone can improve with practice, but if he or she isn’t born with the talent, he or she can never hope to achieve success?

I’d like to get your opinion. I know this blog is founded on trying to teach you some fundamentals of writing a novel, but do you need to have a natural-born gift for writing in order to take advantage of my advice?

What do you think?

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msbenefit on

Re: Chapter 53: The Lost Art of Writing

i think that writing is like learning the guitar. start playing young and you're more likely to play well, unless you have little interest. i think fundamentals can be taught... chords and scales and such. and that anyone can learn to play a song.

the problem is playing it well.

i really like this metaphor, because music is a language. you have to be able to have an ear and an eye for detail. you have to have a sense of rhythm. and there are some people who just won't have the coordination to play badass riffs. or the ear to know what sounds well together. but they can come close through study. and maybe come up with a best-selling novel, even if it's not the great american novel.

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booksay on

Re: Chapter 53: The Lost Art of Writing

Very interesting stuff. Thanks for your insight.

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wisconsinpunk on

Re: Chapter 53: The Lost Art of Writing

Everything can be taught to do anything. The diffrence is some can do it as easily as breathing and some have to concentrate. And some are too damn worried about their writing that it becomes as fake as hell. Don't tell me a story, take me on a journey. Some will say a good book is one that you read over and over, but to me a good book is one that you read only once but remember it forever.

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margauxelenore on

Re: Chapter 53: The Lost Art of Writing

I think that everyone has something to learn about writing, no matter how much talent they are born with. Some people may find writing a simpler task than others, and those who find it simple may still not be good at it. Regardless of talent, writing depends on a dedication to your work and constant searching for improvement. Writing poetry comes easily to me, but that doesn't necessarily mean that my poetry is good or can't be better. At the same time, prose is difficult for me, but that doesn't mean I cannot learn to write it well. For me it is a ceaseless reworking of my writing; not relying on some predestined talent.

Then again, I come from a family of perfectionists, and I am the first one to terrible at grammar and spelling out of my siblings. But I work at it anyways...