{"id":2554,"date":"2020-02-07T14:00:46","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T19:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/?p=2554"},"modified":"2020-02-07T14:00:52","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T19:00:52","slug":"5-ways-to-tell-if-youre-a-natural-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-tell-if-youre-a-natural-writer\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Tell If You&#8217;re a Natural Writer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/natural-writer-quote.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2555\" width=\"384\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/natural-writer-quote.jpg 512w, http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/natural-writer-quote-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/natural-writer-quote-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><figcaption>But I AM a natural heart surgeon! I just choose to do other things with my hands&#8230;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Like most endeavors in this thing we call life, how good you are at something depends on a combination of natural skill and drive to improve. Notice I said how <em>good <\/em>you are at something, not how <em>successful<\/em> you are, because success depends a lot on luck\u2026more than most successful people are willing to admit. If you\u2019re good at something, it increases your odds of success, but you can still suck at something and be successful at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Which is good for you! \u2026Or soul-crushing if you\u2019re one of those unlucky people who are good but unsuccessful (which\u2026AHEM\u2026might include me\u2026or so I tell myself so I can sleep at night DON\u2019T JUDGE ME). But it\u2019s still probably good for you, because not everyone can be a natural even at something they\u2019re passionate about. You can religiously follow football, for instance, and memorize all the plays and train every day like <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rudy_(film)\">little Rudy<\/a>, but if you\u2019re not a superhumanly fast and agile freaky man-giant, you\u2019ll never be a pro-bowler no matter how badly you want it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are, in fact, a set of natural skills that make a person a natural writer. Unlike football, you don\u2019t <em>need<\/em> these skills to be successful, but they help. Hell, if a <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2020\/01\/american-dirt-jeanine-cummins-mexican-experience.html\">white lady can write a mediocre book about the \u201cauthentic\u201d Mexican migrant experience and be paid seven figures for it<\/a>, you can too! (The secret to her success: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jeanine_Cummins\">insider connections of course<\/a>, and smartly choosing the evergreen subgenre of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/all-about-genres-and-which-is-right-for-you\/\">general fiction stories<\/a> specifically written to make white people feel better about racism, ala <em>The Help<\/em>, <em>The Blind Side,<\/em> <em>Driving Miss Daisy, Crash<\/em>, <em>Green Book<\/em>, etc. But I digress\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How can you tell if you\u2019re a natural born writer? <strong>Here are the five skillz of someone born to word-sling for a living:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1.  You can \u201chear\u201d when a sentence or paragraph doesn\u2019t sound right<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is \u201cgood\u201d writing exactly? Most people can\u2019t tell; in fact <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/do-you-need-a-professional-editor\/\">most readers don\u2019t care<\/a>, which is why badly written books still get the thumbs-up from editors who should know better. But people with \u201cthe writing knack\u201d can tell, and it drives them crazy. Something is badly written when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Words are repeated too close together, ex: \u201cHe heard a knock on the <em>door<\/em>, then got up to answer the <em>door<\/em>.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The same word is used to start consecutive sentences in serial, usually a pronoun or the word <em>The<\/em>, ex: \u201c<em>He<\/em> heard a knock at the door. <em>He<\/em> got up and answered it. <em>He<\/em> was shocked to see his ex-wife on the other side.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Lack of sentence structure variety in a paragraph or consecutive sentences, ex: \u201c<em>Answering the door<\/em>, he was shocked when he saw his ex-wife on the other side. <em>Leaning in<\/em>, he whispered, \u2018What are you doing here? My wife is home!\u2019 <em>Throwing her head back<\/em>, she laughed. \u2018It\u2019s time she knew the truth!\u2019\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Lack of efficiency, i.e. over-explaining things, using more words than necessary, or repeating information, ex: \u201cAs <em>tears rolled down his face<\/em>, he screamed, \u2018You have to leave!\u2019 He was so upset, he couldn\u2019t help <em>crying<\/em>.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Bad dialogue that doesn\u2019t flow and\/or isn\u2019t even close to realistic, ex: \u201cHe screamed at his ex-wife, \u2018I do not know why I did such a terrible thing with you!\u2019 His ex-wife answered, \u2018I never stopped loving you.\u2019\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A\ngood writer might employ these bad writing techniques on purpose and sparingly\nfor a specific effect, but bad writers use them all the time because they can\u2019t\ntell they\u2019re bad. A natural writer can tell, and it physically hurts to read it\nun-ironically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2.  You read and watch like a writer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though\nmost people can\u2019t tell or don\u2019t care if a story or writing is particularly good\nor bad, natural writers can tell\u2014and they can tell you exactly why. This is the\nreason there\u2019s often a gap between what critics consider good and what\naudiences consider good\u2014critics are trained to pay attention to the details,\nwhile also considering the broader implications of a story, its themes, and its\nflow. Natural writers do this, too. They\u2019re not distracted by hype, fancy\ngraphics, good-looking actors, action sequences in movies and TV shows, or by a\nbook\u2019s page-turning cliffhangers\u2026though they can still appreciate and enjoy all\nthose things. When there are gaping plot holes, or the story or writing is\nsub-par, they can tell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(On\nthat note\u2026<em>Avatar<\/em> is a fucking terrible\nmovie, people! Why are there <em>four sequels<\/em>\nin the queue for this thing WHY?!? And <em>Us\n<\/em>is overrated\u2026that\u2019s right come at me! I\u2019m a hardcore SJW and I still can\u2019t\nfigure out what the movie says ABOUT AMERICA that\u2019s so freakin\u2019 deep. Just\nbecause <em>Get Out <\/em>was genuinely\nthought-provoking doesn\u2019t mean everything Jordan Peele puts out will be, too. Throwing\nthat out there.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3.  <\/strong><b>You reject good ideas because they\u2019re not good <em>enough<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve\nsaid this before, somewhere, I think, in one of my earlier blogs\u2014I\u2019m not gonna\nlook through them all cuz it\u2019ll take too long\u2014but if you\u2019ve only got one idea\nfor an awesome book, then you\u2019re screwed. Unless you get very lucky or have an\ninsider advantage, your first book is highly unlikely to be a hit. You need to\nwrite several books to build an audience. Most authors who are \u201covernight\nsuccesses\u201d have actually been writing and publishing for years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Truly creative people, in nearly every field that involves creativity, have LOTS of ideas. The key to success is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-tell-if-you-have-a-good-idea-for-a-book\/\">picking out the ideas with the most potential<\/a>, like a dog breeder selecting the pick of the litter. Natural writers have a constant pool of ideas, and choose to write full books on the ones they carefully decide have the best chance at success (whether the criteria for success is commercial, critical, or personal is up to the author). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4.  You can describe action in clear detail<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bad writers have a tendency to be fuzzy on the details of action, while being overly-descriptive of physical appearances. Characters who have \u201cebony black hair like silk spun from the night sky\u201d and \u201calmond-shaped, flashing emerald eyes\u201d will \u201cflail\u201d their arms during <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/how-to-write-a-good-fight-sex-scene\/\">fight scenes<\/a>, or \u201cmake quick work\u201d of an enemy, or have \u201cmagical\u201d and\/or \u201cbreathtaking\u201d sex. None of these action descriptions form a clear mental image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(There\u2019s also a common related issue where characters will suffer horrendous injuries, like major broken bones, knife or bullet wounds, eyes gouged out, etc.,  but be barely affected by them. <strong><em>Note to all authors<\/em><\/strong><em>:<\/em> people who\u2019ve suffered serious injuries won\u2019t then launch into a monologue, or bounce back up like everything\u2019s fine, or make sweet love. Mostly they just roll around and scream, then maybe pass out.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One time, in a writing workshop, I read a short story where the last sentence was something like, \u201cAnd then she was attacked by a dog and died.\u201d It wasn\u2019t meant to be funny, even though I laughed when I read it. Yes, I can form a clear mental image of a dog attack, but: 1) it came out of nowhere and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/the-4-key-attributes-of-a-good-ending\/#more-2534\">wasn\u2019t meant to be satire<\/a>, and 2) taking one sentence to describe someone\u2019s gruesome death sucks away all the impact it was supposed to have, and just leaves the reader confused\u2014or laughing inappropriately and getting nasty looks from your workshop partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every\nwriter, no matter how good they are, needs to spend time honing their\ndescriptive skills; good descriptions are absolutely key. Natural writers have\nthe advantage of being able to visualize an action sequence and describe what\u2019s\nhappening in words that a reader can use to conjure a clear mental image.\nPractice makes the natural skill better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>5.  You can \u201cinhabit\u201d people with totally different personalities, similar to an actor performing different roles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is antithetical to the \u201cwrite what you know\u201d credo a lot of aspiring authors misunderstand. You don\u2019t need to be a serial killer to write a story involving a serial killer; you only need to be able to <em>pretend<\/em> to be one, like an actor does when they play a role. When a writer can\u2019t imagine what people with different personalities and backgrounds would act like in different situations, characters come off as cardboard cutouts or caricatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Natural\nwriters can play-act a conversation or scene in their head between two\ncompletely different people, with different goals and priorities (which is key\nto constructing a good scene; I\u2019ll describe how to do this in a future post). A\nmale writer who \u201ccan\u2019t write women,\u201d for instance, is a shitty writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to caveat that the concept I\u2019ve just described is different than \u201cpretending\u201d to be someone from a different culture, especially a marginalized culture plagued by racist stereotypes (which is how the <em>American Dirt<\/em> author got into trouble). Personalities and cultures are not the same thing. What is and isn\u2019t cultural appropriation is a whole different subject dependent on context, and I\u2019m not going to tackle that beast now because it would take too long (maybe in a future post\u2026we\u2019ll see).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like\nI said before, don\u2019t panic if you don\u2019t do some or any of these things. You can\nstill be a successful writer! It\u2019ll just take more work on your part to study\nthe craft, and, well, luck. Or just get a job at a publishing company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like most endeavors in this thing we call life, how good you are at something depends on a combination of natural skill and drive to improve. Notice I said how good you are at something, not how successful you are, because success depends a lot on luck\u2026more than most successful people are willing to admit. &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-tell-if-youre-a-natural-writer\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;5 Ways to Tell If You&#8217;re a Natural Writer&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[494,525],"tags":[579,583,582,586,578,587,581,585,577,584],"class_list":["post-2554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craft","category-wordsmithing","tag-american-dirt-controversy","tag-avatar-is-a-terrible-movie","tag-bad-writing-habits","tag-describe-action-well","tag-fiction-written-to-make-white-people-feel-better-about-racism","tag-inhabit-your-characters","tag-read-and-watch-like-a-writer","tag-rejecting-good-ideas","tag-rudy-football","tag-us-is-overrated"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Vyi8-Fc","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2554"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2559,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554\/revisions\/2559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}