To Write Or Not To Write?

To Write or Not To Write?

Can anyone be a writer? That’s a question I've heard friends grappling with in recent weeks. The question is, is writing skill like singing skill?

I’m inclined to say No. A voice can be trained but some natural ability must be there in the first place.

I could be offered all the training in the world but I will never be a singer. I just ain’t got it!

On the other hand, anyone of normal intelligence can be trained to be a writer, if they have the time and interest and are willing to practice.

This doesn’t mean that all of us are going to make top writers. Some will be better than others: Shakespeare was surely born not made.We all have different talents and proclivities.

But time and again I've heard of well-known and accomplished writers who wrote more than one book that was a learning experience and never got published. Eventually they became good enough at their craft to get there.

My book The Climate Change Murders was definitely a practice run.

So, personally, I’m still learning – and as with any skill, the only way to improve is to keep practicing.

Back to the novel!

David Kilner

www.davidkilner.com