Writers are Both Born and Made
I’m a believer in the concept of psychological nature/nurture. A friend of mine who is a psychologist puts the ratio at fifty-percent nature (the traits that we are innately and genetically born with) and fifty-percent nurture (the life lessons and environment we experience that influence who we are). He has a phrase that I love: “Nature loads the gun. Nurture pulls the trigger.”
This means that we are born (nature) with varying degrees of natural abilities as it pertains to becoming writers. Life then takes what we have and makes it into a usable skill if we choose to develop what we have in the service of writing. In other words, to lesser or greater extents, we are born to be writers and then what we do, to lesser or greater extents after that, trains us to be writers. Not all of us have the same innate gifts nor do we all use the same opportunities to nurture.
The two intrinsically go together. Natural writers who do not apply themselves do not get very far. The less naturally inclined who applies himself goes a long way. It is not necessarily the most talented who wins, nor is it the hardest worker who wins, but it is a combination of both, and by pushing both to the best extremes, we can develop what skills we have (nature) through hard work and self-discovery (nurture).
So that age-old question comes: Are writers born or made? Can writing be taught or not?
The answer is ‘yes’.
So, start where you are with what you were born with, and then work, work, work, and write, write, write. The best writers, whether natural or nurtured dominant, will rise to the top. You have the control and the power to take yourself wherever you want to go and to whatever level you are willing to push yourself. Your DNA gives you the tools, what you put into your life and skillset gives you the opportunity.
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