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June 15, 2005
Talent
I’ve been thinking about the craft of writing but I suppose you could apply the discussion to most activities. I wonder if there is such thing as ‘talent’ or is the whole thing down to hard work or even luck? I guess it would help if we could clarify what we mean when we refer ‘good writing’ As a reader I adore elaborate poetic prose and pages of interior monologue and value deep characterisation over plot but I’m aware that most readers find this sort of style dull, slow and heavy going. Who am I to say that Thomas Hardy (for example) is more talented than the writer of the racy thriller that you might be reading at the moment? If it is all so subjective then can we define talent? And if it can’t be defined then does it exist?
I think that there must be something that makes certain activities easier for some people. We all know irritating people who seem to be able to do things with very little effort. (Yes Hello Mr. PE) while the rest of us think, plan, write, delete, write, cut, paste and then give up. I wonder if this is what we mean by talent? Those who find it all so easy. Does this mean that the rest of us are not talented? Or if in the end we produce a piece of work that others enjoy reading, however hard we may have worked on it, can we call it talent and be done with it?
There is an expression that many people throw around in discussions like this and that is that ‘you can do anything if you set your mind to it.’ I always find this slightly insulting as it implies that if you have been dealt a hard blow in your life, it is somehow your own fault. (Hey you homeless person. You too could have a sixteen bedroom mansion if you set your mind to it!) Bringing it back on subject I’m sure that even if I trained every day I would still never make the Olympic 100 metres final. Yet although I wouldn’t call myself a ‘good writer’ at this moment in time, I do feel that if I got the opportunity to write massive amounts everyday I would certainly make more progress than if I were to jog for the same amount of time. If this is the case then is talent comparative? Can I say that I am ‘more talented’ at writing than I am at running even though I don’t believe that I have got a ‘talent’ for writing?
Confused? I do apologise for the ream of questions. Someone give me the answers quick. I’ve been pondering it for days and it is beginning to bother me. I guess it’s not as if it’s something you can prove anyway.
Posted by purple elephant at June 15, 2005 08:26 PM