What makes a writer great? Is writing a skill that can be developed like any other skill? Or is it a talent for only a few? It is a debate, but no one seems to conclude.
Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. — Stephen King
I am not a writer in the strictest sense of the term. Even a few years back, I never thought that I would be writing regularly. It all happened during the pandemic when I, with the rest of the world, was sitting at home with nothing better to do. I have been writing regularly since those days of confusion and mayhem, and now maintain two blogs. But that is a story for some other occasion.
I do not consider myself a writer because, like writers, I do not earn much from my writing. Whatever I earn is at best insignificant. I still have to walk a lot before I can call myself a writer. So, I am neither a full-time nor a professional writer. Yet, I would stick my neck out and get headfast in the debate whether writing is a talent or a skill.
The question arose when a few friends and I were discussing whether the achievements of great writers like Rabindranath Tagore, William Shakespeare, or Leo Tolstoy were due to their unique writing talent or their habits of writing regularly for long hours every day and made them great.
An often-quoted saying comes to mind — Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. This saying is attributed to the great inventor Thomas Edison, who was considered a genius. Perhaps it was true for him. The story goes that he invented the lightbulb after failing one thousand times to perfect it. When asked how he felt about his failures, he replied that he found out a thousand ways why a light bulb would not work! It might be true for him. He was an inventor, and his path to success was paved with failures.
But does this saying hold for writers as well? Especially for the greats like Tagore, Shakespeare, or Tolstoy? Do writers become great because of their talent or because they write regularly? This is like the chicken and egg question — the chicken came first or the egg. There seems to be no clear answer.
Most things can be learned and mastered with practice — playing music, singing, and sports. Everything that matters in this world is a skill that can be developed with practice. And writing indeed comes into this category. One can learn this skill and master it with regular practice. In this sense, writing is a skill. But would only practicing a skill rigorously and diligently make one great in her chosen field?
Researchers David Hambrick and Elizabeth Meinz have disproven the myth that talent doesn’t matter. It matters. Their study has shown that practice matters and gives one enough expertise to do better than most, yet native talent helps one to be great. But that does not mean that someone naturally gifted in one particular field will become great even when she is not putting up enough hours and dedication to practice and hone her skill. Tedulker would not have become a Tendulkar had he not put enough hours into practicing his skills. The same I believe is true for great authors like Tagore, Shakespeare, and Tolstoy.
Great authors are great not only because they have practiced their skill of writing. That is given, a priori. Tagore started writing at a very young age. His Banushnghar Podaboli, an anthology of 22 Vaisnava songs, was published when he was 23. The first song in that collection was probably written when he was only 16, as the lore goes. The sheer quantity of his literary output proves that he was a prolific writer. And he kept writing till his last days.
Not much is known about Shakespeare. Experts say that a lot of his works have not survived. He died at 52. Within that short time, he penned 38 plays, 54 sonnets, 2 long poems, and some minor poems. Again this proves that he was a writer who wrote profusely.
Tolstoy died at 82. In his long literary life, he wrote Novels, novellas, short stories, sketches, plays, children’s literature, songs, polemics, essays, treatises, epistles, literary and art criticisms, textbooks, autobiography, diary, translations, and correspondence. When it comes to volumes of writing, Tolstoy was no pushover.
All great writers are voluminous writers. Here, I have taken three random examples. There are plenty more who wrote in volumes before becoming great writers. There is no “one-work” great writer I am aware of.
So, what makes a writer great?
Anybody can write well. That comes with practice. But to be a great writer, one needs more than just writing skills. It is important to note that a high writing volume does not necessarily indicate a high literary value. Practice helps one to develop writing skills, which is very easy to get. But evidently, great writers have more than the writing skills to make them great. To produce great literature, one needs to be more than prolific. It requires observation with a deep understanding and empathy for everything around. It requires imagination, and spiritual awakening that comes with more than the writing practice. Above all, it requires a love for humanity.
The difference between a good writer and a great writer is the difference between any flower and a rose. A rose is also a flower, but all flowers are not roses. It is the mahek, the smell, that makes all the difference. The promise of the smell is inherent in roses, but will only manifest if nurtured properly. It requires painstaking nurturing.
To conclude, all great writers are prolific writers. But just being prolific will not make one a great writer.
Originally published at https://barun.substack.com.
