I have long pondered this question and the answer has changed over the years. At first, I was convinced that writers were born – all of my favourite books seemed to be written by magicians, their words conjuring up fantastical worlds, leaving me spellbound. I have since learnt though that writing is less about magic, and more about mettle.
It’s not so much about whether you have the write stuff, but rather whether you’re made of the write stuff.
It takes focus, discipline and perseverance to write one word after the other, to line them up into sentences, to structure them into paragraphs. All the while hoping that they will weave together a story, the lives of characters and the flow of a plot into a coherent (and preferably entertaining) tale.
Talent is more common than you would think. Discipline, not so much.
When there is a marrying between the two, what you’re left with, is, well, magic.