Writing - tools of the trade

Writing – acquire the tools of the trade

 

As much as writing is obviously an ‘art’ it is also a trade that can be learned.

 

• Michelangelo had to learn about paint and canvas, which marble was best for carving etc.

• Jacqueline du Pre wasn’t born with the skill to play a cello

 

• Mozart still had to learn to read and write music, and he practiced his art

 

• Rodin studied anatomy in great detail before he produced The Thinker

 

• You can bet your bottom dollar Meryl Streep went to Drama School (Yale actually)

 

I could go on and on, but you see what I mean?

 

A vast majority of people want to write, think they can write, and of course most people can write – they write letters (or used to), they tell stories to their children, they are good raconteurs, they write business reports for a living… all of which leads them to believe that the ‘great novel’ is lurking inside them just waiting to be set down on paper.

 

Easy, right?

 

Wrong!

 

If it was easy everyone would be doing it and J.K. Rowling would have authors hot on her heels vying to overtake her as the bestselling author the modern world has seen.

 

Okay, so we’ve established that it’s not that easy, but then neither is it impossible. 

 

What needs to be acknowledged is that there ARE tools of the trade and these can be learned, honed and practiced, and then… watch out JK!