Where writing comes from
April 2nd, 2006 by Bill
Why is it some people have a facility with words and stories? Why do some people write? Well, surely some are simply naturally inclined that way – something to do with DNA and some of that other stuff I don’t understand.
But I think it must be a bit of both nature and nurture. I’ve been listening to a lot of Lucinda Williams lately and I’ve wondered in a distracted way how it is she writes so well? Where’s that come from?
Then today, while meandering on the Internet, I came across an interview with her on the Free New Mexican. It appears her father is a poet – Miller Williams.
And there you go. Of course, neither nature nor nurture can make you a good writer but I think they influence what will be of interest to you and the degree to which you are interested (in this case, words). A lot of work, and an ability to learn, usually determine how good you’ll be – well, if anything does.
In my own case, my grandfather told stories all the time, so when I grew up I grew up surrounded by storytelling. And my parents, and especially my larger family on my mother’s side of things (one of whom was my storytelling grandfather), were book crazy. (My grandfather was also big on Shakespeare. My other grandfather, a United Church minister, was a reader too – he even had books in Greek, something quite beyond me.)
The point is, being surrounded by these things likely helped determine my interest and the degree of my interest. Whether I am any good at writing is quite another thing. But I am a writer (I’ve been getting paid for it for years) and that is due to a large extent to how I grew up.
Some asides:
“… How a thing is said is at least as important as what’s being said.†– Miller Williams
“It is my belief that Lucinda (Williams) is the closest living counter-part to Hank Williams, when it comes to writing from the heart with absolute economy. It is a bonus that her rock and roll vocal style will shake up any band in a fashion that I can only compare to Keith Richards’ guitar playing.†– Elvis Costello
Tags: Lucinda Williams, Miller Williams
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