My favorite weekly podcast is Writing Excuses. This week’s (s2 e19) has a discussion starting at the 13m 20s mark about Can you learn to write?, which using my current trend of just repackaging content by changing the subject to testing, was really interesting.

  • Can everyone out there become a professional writer? No.
  • Can anyone out there become a professional writer? Yes.
  • The qualifications are
    • you have to get really mucky
    • you have to know some of the right people
    • you have to have a passion for that craft
    • you have to be writing and driving yourself to get better at it all the time.
  • You can do anything you want, but if you want something you have to do it
  • Work is an inescapable part of it
  • Anyone, if they put in the effort can learn the skills necessary
  • In order to be a professional writer, you have to be willing to learn
  • Have to be able, and willing, to rework things from the ground up when it is not working
  • You can learn, but you have to really try