With any profession or hobby there are people who are naturals. They can downhill ski on their first try (not me, almost died). They can bake a perfect cake at a young age (that was one and one half cups of water not eleven and one half). They can catch any shaped ball effortlessly and the list continues.

The Big Lie I’m referring to is personal in terms of writing, but common to many fields. It is simply that the only people who can write books are those who are born with the gift. Essentially that it can’t be taught. I realized when I sat down to write my first novel that I had no clue how to begin the story, write dialogue, plot the story, or create characters. But I did it anyway.

While I wrote, I read books aimed at the same age group, listened to books on my way to work, and read books on the craft of writing. Then, about a hundred pages in, I realized something. The beginning was horrible (I rewrote it completely), my grammar was horrible (still learning), and my characters were finally speaking to me. I was learning to a degree that Amanda couldn’t believe. She had read my first college papers and they weren’t pretty.

The more I write, the more I learn about writing. Practice can get you to the level of the naturals, and in the end you will feel greater accomplishment. Don’t waste years of your life thinking that you aren’t good enough. Just dive in and learn from your mistakes.