WHY DO WRITERS TURN OUT TO BE WRITERS?

Nature or Nurture When it Comes to Writers

Please comment telling us whether you vote for nature, nurture or a bit of both. Add a reason or two as to why.


Ever since I posed this question, I've thought about it and asked others, including writers. The answers are varied. And based on each writer's personal experience. For a more scientific explanation click on Nature or Nurture above.

For personal experiences - read on and also check the responses from the writers I've featured to date:  

 Robert J. Sawyer
Neil Enock
 KJ Howe
Adam Dreece

 And watch for upcoming author interviews with these authors.  Sandra Hurst, Jenna Greene, Suzy Vadori and G. W. Renshaw

Which factor is winning?

So far, nature (IE being genetically predisposed to be a storyteller) is in the lead. 

However, opinions are that the shift from telling stories to writing them is influenced by nurture.

Genetics and Family - one example

My brother and I had obviously some shared genetics and similar nurturing. We come from a family of storytellers with some writers. My mother could keep listeners engaged literally for days telling stories many based on real life. And she wrote poems and children's stories. My father, as a minister, used stories to solidify the point of his sermons. My uncles were joke tellers. Stories were all around us and we were read to and given books for birthdays and Christmas. We also had library cards from an early age.




However, I tell oral stories and write but my brother tells jokes, long complicated stories with great punch lines. So what was the difference between us? Possibly both nature and nurture. Or was it...

Love of Reading - a major factor

One recurring theme in most writers' pasts is a love of reading. The more we read, the more likely we were to become writers. And words hold a fascination for us. That is the one major difference between me and my brother. I loved and still love to read. Him - not really. The other difference is that readers who turn into writers are driven to write and they learn the craft.

Take a look at the author interviews (links shown above) and watch for the next four as they appear in the coming weeks. (Put your email in the slot above right to get them straight to your email.)