writing - an instinctive or acquired skill?

I had coffee with a fellow writer last week. Over many years we've commented on each other's novels and short stories. During our rendezvous our conversation attained a new intensity as we discussed how writers actually learn to write, something I've blogged about intermittently. This question continues to rattle around in my head. Apologies if I've actually stated this before, but it seems that there are two camps: those who embrace the technical books on how to write, and those who don't. The ones opposed to these books make the point that the market is swamped with such resources and none of them has ever won an award. The devotees of such books are less vociferous, I think, simply quietly recommending certain ones from time to time when they consider an aspiring writer would benefit from them.

My studying days are over. However, if I were to undertake more, it would be interesting to research how writers learn. From reading, many would say, i.e. seeing how other writers write. My friend is convinced it's instinctive. I suggested the analogy of a book on the craft being a compass to enable the writer to reach the destination they wished. Again my friend insisted she didn't need a compass, or a map, or anything, in fact. Just the hard graft and determination and a certain amount of planning, either in advance of writing or as she went along. I remain unconvinced.

Perhaps I'm simply not instinctive when it comes to writing. My first piece of creative writing, unconnected with school, was a Sherlock Holmes story I wrote aged 11. It was longer than a short story, I doubt it was novel length, though at the time I was probably impressed with the word count. Its title was far from earth-shattering - The Missing Piece of Paper. It was written in a hard-backed notebook, and I wish I'd kept it. Doubtless when I wrote it, I knew virtually zero about the craft of writing, except the importance of constructing proper sentences - something which more experienced writers can deviate from, provided they know they're doing it.

Meanwhile I continue to devour anything I can on the art of writing. I spend copious amounts of time taking detailed notes on anything which might improve my writing. It can be laborious; it can also be exhilarating. Suddenly I understand the technique of panning out at the end of an intense scene, or the importance of laying the ground for dramatic moments or the depth you can add to a story by weaving action with dialogue with reflection.

I realised recently that I'd been spending so much time on improving my writing on a line to line level that I'd forgotten I needed to learn more about structuring a novel. There are many ways to do this, but it's important to be conscious of what your structure is. My mentor has come up with an idea to help me with this. She and I read the same book, she analyses its structure, we discuss it, and I put the contents of one of my chapters into the structure of one of its chapters. Not so easy as it might sound. In fact, it doesn't sound easy to me at all, which is why it is probably worth doing.

There is so much to learn. How can it be instinctive? Equally important, can a writer train herself to become instinctive in the art of writing, or is it a god-given gift, there from birth, to be nurtured or ignored?








As always, any comments welcomed.



Wonderingly yours


Jane