Making a Difference as a Writer

One of the classic questions being asked about writers is whether they are born or made. I will defer my position on that issue until I lay down some thoughts from other writers. The most convenient way is to surf the web, and without fail and surprisingly, the issue appears to be some kind of chicken-and-egg thing but somehow the second position prevails. I selected five writers’ thoughts on the issue:

Writers Are Made, Not Born

• Writing requires training for mastery. Dimgba Igwe observes that common among the writers is their compulsion to write. Somebody may be born with creative imagination which may fuel a compulsion to write. Creativity may be inborn but writing skills are learned. Hence, this requires some training to attain mastery. This is an interesting read enumerating various well-known authors and their circumstances.
• Teaching hones skills in writing. In support of the previous thesis, Michael Fedo describes his English teacher who himself was not publishing anything but was able to teach writing effectively his students. The teacher painstakingly reviews the students’ manuscript and prescribes guidelines for producing quality output.
• Writing requires commitment and persistence. Cirilo Bautista argues that the talent of writing might be there at birth, but if it is not prodded or nurtured, it will come to nothing. The genius for writing, in short, is the product of an unswerving involvement, of “keeping the faith” and mastering the craft, even in the most desperate and unfavorable situations.

True Writers Are Born, Not Made

• True writers write with passion. I placed “true writers” so as to qualify the specificity with which Crystal Cook wrote her article. Although Cook did not emphasize the gene thing, her argument deviates from the idea of training and nurture to produce excellent writers. She posits, quite convincingly, that “good” writers can come out of training but the depth and mark of a “true” writer holds writing with passion. A writer immerses himself in his work and incorporates his total being. A good writer writes to please readers, a true writer writes to feed his soul. A truly good writer does both and succeeds.
• A born writer teaches writing. While I categorize this here, this somehow supports the previous position. Shana Galen believes she was born a writer because she had an innate sense of how a story should go, how a chapter should arc, how a conflict might be fleshed out. However, as she teaches writing to her students, she got confused. Her students, with her tutelage, learned to write and improve on it.

Conclusion

The conclusion of the matter, I am inclined to believe, is that indeed writers may be made, not born. But the real, true writers that inspire readers should write with intensity and passion to be effective in their writing. Also, some writers were known after they died, or they struck a chord that made their writing relevant to their times. This means that the words we write become effective when what we write attunes itself with issues and trends of the times. And I believe that we could not really be distinctly one or the other. There may be times that our writing just reflects us being good writers, and there are times that we, are indeed, “true” writers. These are the times that we write things with passion and where we involve our emotions commonly referred to as “inspired writing”.

In 2005, I remembered I felt so bad about the destructive effects of uncontrolled illegal fishing in our place. I had the privilege of seeing the coral reefs underwater as a trained SCUBA diver. I cannot contain myself and was moved to express my thoughts on paper; and words just flowed naturally in my head. That article became a featured article in at least three major publications. That means, at least, that we must learn the basics of sentence construction such as grammar, punctuation, etc. to produce comprehensible work and progress to the art of arranging words to naturally appeal to the reader.

Kelly McBride suggests some useful tips to hone the writing skills of writers by asking nine questions to knowing yourself as a writer. Some practical tips on technical writing, particularly on how to draft and revise manuscripts are provided here. Although I know vast literature is available along this concern.