$1k Blog

Well, ok, maybe making a post on WF titled “Writers, You Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Talent” was bound to stir up some controversy…

Anyway, I just wanted to explore how people felt about talent - however you define it - being an integral part of of the package of skills you need to write a good article.

The answer is: very strongly.

Luckily, I had a tinfoil cap that came in handy just for this occasion… Nah, I’m exaggerating, of course, and, by and large, I think we had some terrific and civilized debate on whether having this “talent” thing is important in order to write a good article for profit (thanks, Vince!)

All in all, it would appear that one can’t dismiss talent as completely irrelevant when it comes to writing a great article. With that said, I still believe - and I’ll stand by this belief no matter what until I see some real evidence to the contrary - that you don’t need to be a talented writer to write a good, solid article.

It’s like a geometry class - if you take 20 students who all work equally hard and apply themselves, all 20 of them will get A’s - but 1 or 2 will go on to become the next Pythagoras. Now, to put that into perspective, if you’re studying for your Maths GSCEs/A-Levels, how important is it for you to have Pythagoras as a tutor and would a simple maths professor suffice instead?

The choice is yours.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone on WF for taking the time to contribute to what I think was a very interesting discussion. For those interested to catch up on what went on, you can see the thread for yourself here.