― Albert Einstein
So there’s a saying: “You don’t know what you don’t know until you know it. Then you know.”
Pretty much I believe that to be true. When you attempt to learn a new skill, you have no idea–for the most part–if learning will be drastic, difficult, or if you will fall into it like an old pro.
This saying is especially true when you talk about learning to write. Each of us has, at one time or another, met a person who thinks writing a book is a great idea. Sometimes they even tell us they’re going to go home and write it and it’ll be out next year.
I tend to believe this where the person who believes anyone can write a book finds out what they don’t know. Especially when it comes to writing a book.
So it is pretty easy to accept that each of us has a story to tell. That some of us are “born” storytellers. What about the authors that aren’t “born” storytellers? They must have learned something about storytelling. Do they study the craft of writing, or do they observe other writers?
Some writers can’t tell you how they craft a story, because they work by instinct. The old tribal belief that stories are meant to be shared, that cautionary tales are for all of us, and sometimes we just need to entertain the rest of the tribe, is absolutely true. What motivates each writer is different, unique in its own way.
If you have a story to tell, write it down. If you’re willing to take a leap of faith and learn something new, share it with others, selectively. I stress selectively because not all critics are kind.
Chose critics who will not only tell you what’s wrong with specificity, but can suggest ways to fix it. This is how we learn.