How to?

[lovecraft68]

I think technical writing as in grammar and the like can be taught.

Creativity, good dialogue, story telling....cannot. You have it or you don't.

To simplify, have you ever known the kind of person who can really tell a joke or a funny story? They have you engaged, smiling before it even gets to the good part, they have your ear and are taking you on the journey to the pay off. Even if the joke/story isn't that funny you're still entertained because they themselves were entertaining.

Then you have that person that absolutely butchers a joke and a story to the point you roll your eyes and check out on them.

Same with writing.

I'm the type of person who needs chaos to function. I can't work with any type of structure or order meaning telling me to outline or write notes doesn't work. Short of occasionally jotting down a thought here and there I write 100% on the fly.

To the Tolkien example my 900k opus Siblings with Benefits started with the image of a woman sitting in TF Green (RI's airport) waiting for her brother to pick her up and....it just kept going and going.

I don't 'do God' so Kurt's analogy doesn't apply to me so I leave it at what I said at the start of the post, you have it or you don't.

 

[PuckIt]

Multiple Sclerosis perhaps? We had a MS Read-A-Thon here in Australia, but I don't know whether that was also a US thing.

Yes! That was it. Thank you!

A mind is a terrible thing to lose. And mine is too small to be off on it's own.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Yes! That was it. Thank you!

A mind is a terrible thing to lose. And mine is too small to be off on it's own.

My MS Read-A-Thon story was very similar to yours. Second year I did it, nobody would sponsor me :-(

 

[Athalia]

I never liked that statement. It's mean. Teachers and mentors come from all over, not just those in the classroom, and those in the classroom open up the door of understanding and in some students, creativity, in all fields.

If you're not learning something new from the person above you, maybe there is a reason they have your job.


You find it in sports a lot as well: A lot of coaches were not great players, they may have played, but they weren't the MVPs of their league. Being able to teach well is a great skill and if people can do it and want to do it, good for them. Some one out there will appreciate their efforts instead of saying:"That's wrong."

I've always preferred:

"He who can, does.
He who thinks you can, too, teaches."

I think that Vonnegut meant that while a student can benefit from learning the mechanics of an art, no proficiency in art can come from merely mastering the mechanics. The student has to bring something else to the table. That is why I have a rhyming dictionary and a sense of flow and rhythm, but would not presume to think that I can write a hit song.

Your answer reminds me of something Kenneth Tynan said when asked why he thought he was qualified to criticize a play or film without having written or performed in one. He answered, "A critic is someone who knows the way, but cannot drive the car."