Untalented Writing

Tanya Gaylord

Final

Eng 1109

 

 

Untalented Writing

 

Naomi Shihab Nye said “Writing isn’t about talent. It’s about devotion. It’s about practice��?. I agree with her in some regard that it is not all about talent, and that to be a good writer you must practice. Even a brilliant writer needs a tool box that includes good grammar, and mechanics. However, I cannot agree with her whole heartedly. Without talent, there would not be much worth reading. There would be no writing, if there were no interested readers. Practice and devotion can make a talented writer more effective, but without talent, there would be no good writing.

Throughout my college career I have learned a number of different writing styles. Creative writing could not exist without a creative, talented mind. It is still important, in creative writing, that the writer uses the basic skills to put a story together. When I began writing, I was only concerned with the creative part. I soon learned that you cannot just throw words on paper. It takes time and practice to put a good story together, but it needs to be a story worth reading. Without talent, there would be no good stories.

This semester, I learned to put my analytical skills to use by applying them to writing persuasive essays. There is a formula to writing persuasively. First is the outline. This again takes practice and devotion to become good at putting together facts into an effective way. Yet it takes a talented, analytical mind to make effective arguments, and to find refuting arguments. Just simply having an organized persuasive essay does not make it effective.

Naomi Shihab Nye makes a good point; we cannot survive as writers on talent alone. I have learned that an unorganized paper can be confusing and ineffective.  Good writing takes devotion and practice. However we can not be good writers without talent. Without good, talented writers, there would be nothing worth reading.