A Talentless Hack
22 Feb
Over the past month I’ve seen a lot of articles about talent and writing. Mary Rajotte, in one of her groovy writer articles for the Toronto Examiner, asked, “Are good writers born or made?” She stressed the importance of technical mastery, and asked some good questions about families in which certain art forms seem to run in the blood. In the same week, there was an article on The Blood Red Pencil called The Pull to Write, about talent and effort. There were more– but I didn’t save the links. I know, I am lame.
Anyhow, all this and a general enjoyment of such subjects makes me want to bring the conversation up in here. Because I don’t believe in talent.
Well no, I believe that it exists. Some people obviously have a natural ability in certain activities. Your brain takes to language like a fish to water, your vocal cords are formed perfectly for opera, your legs are long enough to be a ballet dancer, you understand how shadow informs our sense of vision and how to reproduce its effects on canvas, you pick out aesthetic trends and human reaction to them without reading Kant or Schopenhaur– or maybe those guys just articulate things you’ve already thought. That’s what makes a prodigy, for sure, or even just a head start.
And there are environmental factors. My parents are musicians; my brother grew up having his singing technique gently corrected, and the guitar was never at all mysterious to me because it was literally always there. Same for children of artists, athletes, businesswomen, etc. everywhere. It’s like being raised bilingual– it’s hard to become conversant in multiple languages when you’re grown up, but if they’re always there, it just happens effortlessly even if you aren’t a natural with languages. It’s not in the blood any more than speaking (arguably — I’m American, after all) English.
But in my experience with so-called talented people– you can imagine that my upbringing meant I was pretty much always surrounded by them– I’ve noticed that as long as there is something, some kind of core understanding or appreciation for something, lack of head-start ability can be overcome; cultivation is what really matters. I’ve seen people everyone thought were tone-deaf learn how to carry a part. Of course, even when there is talent, cultivation is necessary, which no one would deny. My brother is a badass singer, he cultivated it. Okay, I very likely wouldn’t have been a badass guitarist– but who knows. The point is that I’m a mediocre guitarist at best, in spite of what the world would have me believe is every advantage.
What I mean is that most of the time when people say, “she’s so talented,” unless they’re talking about the next Mozart* (hint: there has never been a Next Mozart), they mean “she’s obviously gone into the subject thoroughly, and has enough of a grip on it to produce results herself.”
I think that if you want it, you’ll surround yourself with it, be open to learning and experience, and you cultivate every little hint you get in the process. Unless there is something actively working against you– in most cases such things can be overcome, but not all– why the hell not?
Or maybe I just need to believe that because I’ve always wanted to write, but there never was and certainly never will be anything precious about my drafts. I’m okay with it either way; I’m either too oblivious to feel like a talentless hack, or there’s no such thing, and hacks are a product of willful stupidity rather than a lack of talent, as I suspect. It’s an accident of birth, so’s environment. Working your ass off is an accomplishment.
Think so?
*In the name of historical accuracy, I feel I should point out that while Mozart was undeniably a prodigy, there were some serious environmental factors at work there too. As in pushy stage father. The bane of the truly talented.
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Now playing: The Clash – Jimmy Jazz
via FoxyTunes
I think there is talent. I think some people do have a natural ability. I think cultivating it as you say or practicing make the biggest difference. You grow and learn that way.
I do believe in talent but I think it’s very, very Mozart-rare, and I think most people have to work hard to make their art of choice shine.
I think it can go either way…you can be born Shakespeare or Twain and write amazing stuff from your gut, or you can be trained to be Hunter Thompson or James Patterson and still make a good living with credibility. Or you can be me and write limericks on bathroom walls.
I believe talent goes as far as the person is willing to take it. As a kid, I had a natural git for science. Loved it, excelled in my classes, etc. etc. I was also keen on daydreaming and reading. I don’t recall making a conscious decision, but at some point my brain decided that a career in science would compromise other ambitions (I don’t think that’s true for all people, but it was for me).
Today, I am fairly moronic at science. Not because I lost my aptitude. Instead, I stopped keeping up with it, or trying to be better.
PS: Git = gift. I never said I was good at editing ; )
hmm… I figure that everyone has the potential to do anything they want.
BUT… unless you cultivate that with education and work at it, it’s not going to flourish. And even then, it’s not a guarantee.
As a kid I was a daydreamer and a very convincing liar. All my school reports confirm the former, they never caught on to the latter. What I do now is just a combination of the two. Nature or nurture? Bit of both, I reckon.
M-G, I couldn’t agree more.
Cate, that’s the thing really. I think people mistake a keen interest for talent most of the time.
Jeremy, I’m with you on the bathroom walls– I can’t even come up with a limerick though. Dammit! No, truly, a very good point, one that makes it into more of a two paths kind of thing.
Nat, that’s a good point– I was really good at math, for some reason. Then I just lost interest and bam, done. I think there were studies done on that, why boys are “better” at math than girls (as in statistically get better grades), and it’s not that they’re better, it’s just that they tend to care more about it. I don’t recall if it was environmental or hardwiring, or if they even came to a conclusion about it… I need to look it up.
And I’d be the last to condemn anyone else’s editing skills. Man.
Hi Sheryl! I really think that’s the bottom line, yeah. The bit about it not being a guarantee is particularly important, actually– and something I forgot to mention.
Mike, we were the same child in many ways, then! Somehow, I’m not surprised.
You make some really valid points about the ‘nature vs nurture’ thing. The creation of a master artist (ie. painter, musician, writer) is a bit like the creation of a serial killer. The elements of genetics, combined with the surrounding environment one is raised combined with hard work and maybe an ‘X’ factor make a Rembrandt, a Shakespear, a JS Bach. The rest of us must be content in working our asses of to be the best at what we do (or at least happy with our results). Great post, Katey!
You can have all the ‘talent’ in the world, but if you don’t practice it and train it, then it will do you no good.
The real talent is finding your “thing” and honing it. Just my opinion. Talent by itself?
Bah. Nada y pues nada…
This was an excellent post. I really dug it.
Yeah, I think talent has something to do with it, but I think that practice and perseverance have even more to do with it. I’ve known talented people who sit around and don’t cultivate their talent at all. They either lose it or their gift is sporadic. And I’ve known average people who study, learn, and have much more control over their art and can wield it like a mighty force.
I’m all about working your butt off to achieve results.
Great, now I am going to spend the rest of the day wondering whether I was born talentless or if I was bred that way.
Alan, the serial killer simile (er, metaphor? Fuck, so long since I had a proper English class– why am I writing again?!) is possibly the awesomest thing ever. It’s dead on, too, expresses exactly what I meant and with a punch! Thanks!
Too right, Amanda. No doubt.
Aaron, that’s another really good point I should’ve mentioned in there. It does take insight, but hey, anyone can have it!
Mercedes, you know I’m with you. I’ve seen people go both directions too– less talent work hard, loads of talent sit there with their thumb up their ass. The former is so inspiring, and the latter so depressing. Right on!
Jamie, I wonder that all the time. I usually go for the gin and tonic after a few minutes of thinking it though, and then I feel much better.
Not that I endorse self-medication. Just that it works!