Some of the most talented authors I know have few or no published works and are crippled by insecurity about how the professional world will perceive their writing. They water down or carve away at their own stories until the unique souls of the pieces are gone. Thread.
-
Show this thread
-
Talented people have the misfortune of not acquiring their ability through work, and so their confidence is paper thin. They turn to others to learn to improve their innate ability. But the old adage is often true: Those who can, do. Those who can’t do, teach.
2 replies 0 retweets 13 likesShow this thread -
Writers with natural talent seek out teachers who never made it as authors themselves but who believe they understand the perfect formulas for pleasing an audience. People with calculations and story beats but no passion for the work and no palate to detect true quality.
1 reply 1 retweet 12 likesShow this thread -
And therein lies the problem. Storytelling is an art of balancing, and it’s true that these skills can be taught. Even people with talent need to learn basics and refine skills, or can find new inspiration through learning. But the teaching methods don’t line up.
1 reply 0 retweets 10 likesShow this thread -
People with no natural talent need to be reshaped to match a blueprint. They need skills and formulas. They need to be molded by their teachers and spend time as passive vessels first. People with talent can never be passive vessels. They cannot be reshaped without breaking.
1 reply 0 retweets 10 likesShow this thread -
When a teacher with no natural talent tries to shape and mold a student with natural talent, the student ends up breaking because they were already shaped. Teaching a student with natural talent is a process of refining, softening, sharpening, and cultivating. The shape is there
1 reply 0 retweets 13 likesShow this thread -
Our another way, teaching those without talent is like building a housing development. You take one blueprint and apply them to all. Teaching those with talent is like cultivating a unique plant in a garden, one that can be guided as it grows but ultimately must develop itself.
1 reply 0 retweets 8 likesShow this thread
Too many writers with natural talent break long before they publish their first work because their teachers did not see the shape which already existed. Too many untalented teachers break the plant off at the base trying to force it to be a new shape and make it grow their way.
-
-
This phenomenon is by no means limited to writing. Think about your own talents and where teachers have tried to forcefully shape you. Undo the shaping and remember your own form. Then develop along your own path. Others can provide guidance but we must cultivate ourselves.
1 reply 0 retweets 12 likesShow this threadThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.