Mike Lawson lists the distinguishing marks of ”great writers”. Great writers do instinctively what most writers don’t, no matter how hard they try. Lawson thinks you have “it” or you don’t.  If you don’t have “grand master” writing talent, (he lists the literary legends: Shakespeare, Hugo, Steinbeck”) you should put that pen down, get your fingers off your keyboard, and find something else to do. “You either are one (a writer) or you are not. It is not a learned skill or acquired trait. You cannot make a master out of a really good writer any more than you can make a bass fiddle out of a drum.”

Lawson’s analogy works; a dog is not a cat, and a grape is never a watermelon, but a hack can become a writer, and maybe a “literary legend”.  If not a legend, a “hack” can improve spelling, grammar, and content.  Use a dictionary. Increase your vocabulary. Grammar is learned not innate.  Content comes from our stories; we can be taught how to research.

Lawson shifts his thoughts to mission: “Before you ever pick up a pen or type the first word of a project, you should have a mission statement committed to making you a better writer. It doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out, complicated matter. Maybe just a paragraph or so that lays out your personal creed as a writer.”

Your creed as a writer is simple:  ”Just do it”  Mediocre beats failure.  Who knows you might write a brilliant, life-changing sentence. That sentence might not change anyone’s life but yours, and that alone makes
your writing worthwhile.

Your passion drives your mission statement, no matter what you do. If you want to write, then write. Never give anyone permisison to dissuade you.

Helpful books:

The Elements of Style by E.B. White (original by William Strunk)
On Writing Well  by William Zinsser
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Read Mike Lawson’s article.  I disagree with his views, but he writes them clearly.