In this discussion about the writing life, I think there are a number of factors for an author consider. One is the notion of CONCEPT -- for all their talent, is the book idea big enough? Is it salable? Is there a market for it? Is it significant?

Another is the notion of CRAFT -- even if an author has a million-dollar concept, does he or she have the talent to turn it into a good book? Can they learn to do so? Do they have the voice and tone and ability to make it work?

A third is the notion of CREATION, or "art," if you will -- that quality that sets apart the good from the great. Even if they take classes and attend conferences and practice, will they ever really be good enough? The best authors have a spark, a unique creative voice that rises above other writers. Some people are just born with that, perhaps others learn it, but there are definitely authors who stand out.

Look at it this way: I love baseball, and when I practice I'm better than when I don't practice, but no matter how many years I played and practiced, I was never going to be good enough to really be a professional baseball player. I'd love to be great ballplayer -- I have the passion and the desire, and some basic skills, but I'm never going to reach that level because, in the end, I don't have the talent. That's a hard truth, and one some writers may have to face.

Comments

[Dayle]

I agree, Chip. Passion and inspiration and desire can only take you so far. Without the talent and skill to pull it off, it's not happening. Folks who can't carry a tune in a bucket will never be professional singers, no matter how much passion and desire they have. Sad, but true... and, as you put it, a rather "hard truth" at that.

[AimeeLS]

I agree. The question for the novices among us is - who to listen to and when? Even the sincerely objective, professional, experienced voices have different things to say.

I think without genuinely (and I do mean GENUINELY) making God a part of the process and decision making, it is near impossible to know the difference between a selfish dream and an attainable goal...

[Gina Holmes]

Oh good. I got this in my inbox and I was starting to worry. Glad to see it's a post on your blog. Ha.

We have to be careful though on who we decide is untalented. I remember a time some years ago when a good friend of mine took me aside and said this other unpublished writer had no talent and really should give it up. She went on about how horrible this woman was and that we probably needed to take her aside and direct her writing passions to another area. This untalented woman went on to do quite well for herself.

There are writers I scratch my head at when I read their stuff and I think they have no talent. I just read a comment on Goodreads someone wrote about Crossing Oceans that sounded like she felt the same about me.

One man's untalented trash maybe another's man's treasure.

[Jack Colwell]

I agree, in “Outliers” by Gladwell, he makes a solid case that the “tipping point” is 10,000 hours of intentional practice. Very few people have the time, inclination or opportunity to get that amount of solid evaluated practice.

[Nicole]

What Gina said. Exactly.

[Daniel F. Case]

Chip, I hope you didn't stop playing baseball because you can't play in the Majors. There are only 1200 MLB players at any given moment, and it would be a shame to stop playing the game you love because you can't be one of them.

Over the years, some great literature has been penned by people judged as talentless. While a hard dose of reality is good medicine at times, we should always be careful not to choke the patient while administering it. :)

D.

[Sharon A Lavy]

And some of us write because we can't not write. So we practice one way or another whether we have talent or not.

[Susan]

Truth is the Master gave one servant 10 talents, gave another 5 talents and gave the third just 1 talent. We're not all equal, but we are all encouraged to invest and not bury the talent we've been given that we might hear "Well done..."

[url categorization database]

Well said Susan..I really agree with you..