“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?
