Natture Vs. Nurture?

While the answer to this question surely lies somewhere in between, it has been haunting me a lot lately with respect to writing.

Part of me hopes that the nurture aspect of writing, diligence and practice, has a greater impact on ultimate success. That would mean that if I simply write my heart out, read constantly, maybe take a few classes, I have a shot.

Another part of me is equally hopeful that nature is really the key to success. Since I've never really taken creative writing classes, and I've spent the past 15 years talking about writing and dreaming about writing, but accomplishing very little, nurture seems to have slipped past me.

No, no, I'm only almost-30. It's certainly not too late to hope for both: a smidgen of talent and a heaping dose of effort.

This week I read Orson Scott Card's How To Write Science Fiction & Fantasy. It was fantastic, provocative, inspiring... and intimidating.

So I washed it down with NaNoWriMo's own No Plot, No Problem. This was irreverent, silly, motivating... and barely worth reading.

Between the two of them, I picked up a lot of good writing prompt ideas, and a great big pile of "Yes I Can."

Off I go then. The daily word count is lagging.