It seems more and more people want to write and lots of people on this site are trying to, so I'm interested to see what people here think before giving my own view. Are writers born with the gift to write or can it be taught?
Can anybody write?
I think you know whether you can write or not... also look at it as a talent and it will inspire you even more... because there are enough things out there that you can't do... I knew I had some sort of talent because I didn't think in the same way as my mates... they just saw everything as it was, they never really challenged or questioned anything they watched, they just took it as it was... and never really expected anything else... they could'nt predict things and they could'nt add situations onto shows that I thought lacked scipt in some way... I think it is a talent because when you can sit at a computer and write what's in you head and watch it grow inside your mind without any help that is something not every person can do... that's why there is so much sh** on t.v... imagination is very special and can let you reach your ambitions... they say everyone has a book in them... but the library aint full of amazing books.
Yes anybody can write, why not?
It's both a craft and a talent.
The craft bit you can learn, like any craft, most people can become competent if they put enough effort in.
You can't however learn 'talent', I feel that you are born with that.
However, you can develop the talent you've got and getting to grips with the 'craft' of writing can help you do that.
I don't think "anybody" can write comedy. I think you do need to have a basic talent and understanding of the genre, but you can definitely improve with experience. Some things I wrote a year ago that I thought were hilarious at the time, now make me cringe when I think I actually sent them out to people!
There are a very limited number of people who have a natural talent for comedy writing, the rest of us have to work at it ... bloody hard!
What are your views Contains Nuts?
I've always felt that I could write comedy. I regard that as my talent. It's only recently that I've felt that I could write a sitcom after a few years of crafting.
Anybody can write of course - and I find the more you do the easier it becomes. Even though I still haven't succeeded yet in getting anything published yet.
(Not surprising eh?)
Anybody can yes - but not everyone can be good at it.
I believe your humour stems from how you're brought up. I think that watching 'grown up' comedies from a young age, and far superior children's shows that didn't patronise and had jokes the adults found funny has all helped.
Also coming from a northern background - a family full of very funny people - must have had an affect on me.
You can learn how to craft stories, but to get to the top (bit like a being a footballer) you need that natural spark of talent.
Yes, I'm a big head.
Quote: Rustle T Davis @ July 23, 2007, 6:49 PMWhat are your views Contains Nuts?
A few people have touched on various points. I personally think that it can't be just taught as lots of people do the courses but don't have anything to say, any ideas, knowledge or instinct.
But I not sure you are totally born with it either as I believe your upbringing has a massive influence. John Cleese once said he used to always watch comedies as a kid and realised when he started writing that that was like training for him. Its no coincidence that Novelists are bookworms.
Also you have to be very inquisitive about the world you live in and have the drive and discipline to write. Upbringing and life experiences influence all these.
So basically, I think life makes you a writer as for many careers. I think its more natural talent rather than inherited.
I'd have to agree. My upbringing was actually pretty horrendous and comedy was my escapism from a very young age. My writing started at a young age too. I hated school, so I used to hide in my den in the local fields writing amusing stories instead. I guess it's no coincidence I ended up writing into adulthood.
I agree with some of the basic ideas mentioned above, particularly with the notion that anyone can write. However, the quality of what you write about will surely be dependent on your knowledge of a subject or subject area and your ability, inherent or learnt, to transcribe your thoughts/concepts onto paper (or the computer)?
I was rubbish at English in school (so left when I was 17 and went to work for B&Q and then the Army) and it was not until I had to write for a job many years later that I began to develop my own style of writing and its only now I enjoy doing it. Like sport, I now exercise the right muscles for the job of writing by practicing and developing stuff, as well as seeking advice on techniques. Some days are good, some days are not so.
The most important thing I have found (to date as I’m very, very new to this and have not submitted anything as of yet) is that unless you have this inherent ability to write good stuff without having to learn the craft (I envy you), you need to practice and have the theory imbedded within you. You should not be expected to run a marathon just because you have watched the Swansea Bay 10K, so why do you think you can write a sitcom without knowing the techniques?
I now love writing (as I have already mentioned above), but is it more important in the business of sitcom to be able to deal with the inevitable re-writing?
Anyhow, that’s my contribution. We all have it within us to write and send off great material and get commissioned (plus the big house in Gloucestershire). At the end of the day it all comes down to that those of us that will and those of us that won’t are destined to [in a temporal capacity I’m sure], write on chat forums. Me included.
Anyone can write like anyone can play football.
But where as George Best was born players like Vinnie Jones and Gary Neville had to work at it.
Does that make any sence ?. They all made careers out of it though !!!!.
I think comedy writing is unique in that you need to have a feel for it.
I believe we all probably think we have this " feel " or we wouldn't be wasting our time on this site would we !!. Good luck everyone. Hope you all have the "Feel ".
Most people CAN'T write. In the same way that most people can't paint or write symphonies. Writing, however, seems very easy and the less good at it you are, the more easy it may seem as the subtleties of construction and language pass you by.
As for writing courses, there is a chap on the web called 'The Scriptwriter' who claims to have an MA in screenwriting from Bournemouth University, or something similar. Reading his prose is like driving a Ferrari with a lawnmower engine. Everything is where it should be, but there is no finesse or power, because he has no talent.
I once went to a Comedy writing course in Islington. It cost well over £500 and was run by a guy that had written parts of " Allo Allo " and bits of " Get some in ". He taught Comedy writing like one would maths. Add A and B together and you end up with C [ a laugh ].
i.e. Guy walks down street [ A ], doesn't see a banana skin on the ground [ B ], slips over on his arse and you get [ C ] the laugh. Worst £500 I ever spent. I spent the whole time arguing that, in my mind, all great comedy often goes from D to P and back to K. Am I making any sense here?
Quote: Kent Pete @ July 24, 2007, 1:55 PMI once went to a Comedy writing course in Islington. It cost well over £500 and was run by a guy that had written parts of " Allo Allo " and bits of " Get some in ". He taught Comedy writing like one would maths. Add A and B together and you end up with C [ a laugh ].
i.e. Guy walks down street [ A ], doesn't see a banana skin on the ground [ B ], slips over on his arse and you get [ C ] the laugh. Worst £500 I ever spent. I spent the whole time arguing that, in my mind, all great comedy often goes from D to P and back to K. Am I making any sense here?
Yes - lots of sence!
I've got no money to spend on this sort of stuff so think the best thing to do is just keep writing and writing.
I believe anyone can write. However depending on how many people enjoy your work, is whether you have any talent or not.