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N is for Natural

N is for Natural
This entry is part 14 of 26 in the series A to Z 2014

Are you a natural at what you do? Does it come easily? Is it second nature? Are you any good?

Does writing come easily? Does it just flow out of you without effort, without need for editing, and no pain, blood, sweat or tears and it magically is a masterpiece on the first draft?

Liar.

Writing comes easily to me … some of the time. But it usually doesn’t flow without some effort. Once I’m ‘warmed up’ things go better, more smoothly, more, well, naturally. I was talking with a client recently who said that she hated writing, that it was torture, and would rather never have to do it. I’m the opposite, I can’t imagine life without it.

natural: a person regarded as having an innate gift or talent for a particular task or activity

If something doesn’t come naturally for you, should you give it up or just try harder? Does it matter if it’s not natural? I’m sure not all tax attorneys are naturals, but maybe they are numbers guys (OK, maybe not maybe … ) or at least it all makes sense to them. Hmm, I suppose if it didn’t then they probably wouldn’t be tax attorneys.

But what about something that you love doing but it just doesn’t seem to come naturally? Or does that not happen? Do you not write if it doesn’t come naturally? I suppose if you have to, then yes, you’ll write even if it’s not natural. Or what if there’s something you’d like to be a natural at, but you just don’t feel you’re there yet? Can you develop into a natural or does it need to be something you’re born with? No, that’s silly. You can develop it, just like running. Runners aren’t born running, they train, the persevere, they become naturals.

So there’s hope. Maybe we can all become naturals if we try hard enough. Right?

If you're a natural at what you're good at, lucky you.

If you’re a natural at what you’re good at, lucky you. P.S. That’s not my son … 

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4 Comments

  1. A. Catherine Noon

    Ay-mehn. AMEN! Good gracious, amen. Yes. This. Exactly this! 🙂 I nodded along while I was reading. Well put. 🙂

    This is A. Catherine Noon, visiting from the Noon and Wilder blog for the A-Z Challenge, #1554 on the list. Happy blogging!

    Reply
    • Bradley

      Thanks for stopping by, Catherine. Glad it hit home for you!

      Reply
  2. Rachel Morgan

    Of course. My first drafts are always complete masterpieces.
    HA!
    I don’t think anyone can say that in all honesty 😉 For me, writing does take effort, but once I’ve made myself sit down and get into “the zone,” I find the words flow pretty easily. And I spend quite a long time on my first drafts so that I don’t have to do a great deal of editing later on 😉

    PS – Thanks for visiting the Dauntless Authors blog!
    http://dauntlessauthors.blogspot.com
    http://www.rachel-morgan.com

    Reply
    • Bradley

      Oh I’m glad I found the other person on the planet with perfect first drafts! 😉 I love when I get into the zone, in fact, I might not be exaggerating if I said it was one of my favorite places to be.

      Reply

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