Writer, Artist, or Otherwise: Here’s Why Talent Isn’t Enough

Reed’s essay, “Writer, Artist, or Otherwise: Here’s Why Talent Isn’t Enough” is now available on Signature.

For years I’ve gotten into hot water with my peers and aspiring writers at “how to” conferences and workshops for my liberal use of an apparently taboo word: talent. It took me a while to figure out why that word elicited such ire. Depending upon your worldview, talent is either a gift from God or a matter of genetic serendipity. But regardless of whether you believe it comes in on litt...