From: remus@panix.com   
      
   mumble  wrote:   
   > Is storytelling a talent one is born with, or is it a skill that can be   
   > developed?   
      
      Both.  It is commonly said that good writers are born with talent for   
   one aspect of storytelling -- characters, plot, description, and so on.   
   The rest you have to learn through practice.   
      
      I think I have an in-built talent for plot.  Other authors are natural   
   at making their characters seem real.  G.R.R. Martin, I think, has a   
   born talent for description.  Everyone has their strengths; play to them,   
   while making sure your weaknesses aren't show-stopping flaws.   
      
   > Aside from autobiography, where do the stories come from?  Are they   
   > imagined up out of thin air?  Are they transformations of stories one   
   > has lived himself?  Other?   
      
      Oh, boy.  Hmn.  The answer is 'all of the above plus syncretic mixing   
   of accumulated knowledge'.   
      
      Let's take an example.  I have a webcomic about an old man whose   
   job is to commit genocide.  The root inspiration came from my experience   
   working in WMD detection, which gave me knowledge about chemical and   
   biological weapons.  Other characters come from my computer skills, my   
   struggle with empathic relations, and my infatuation with powerful women.   
      
      It's important to note that all those elements were included consciously.   
   You can't just throw random stuff from your psyche into a pot and have it   
   gel together into a story...or at least that's never worked for me.  I play   
   with ideas, throw some away and keep others, always with an eye for what's   
   best for the story.  When the story needs an element that doesn't come to   
   me naturally, I research it.  Sea captains, wheelchair design, whales,   
   volcanoes -- these are things I know nothing about, so I looked them up and   
   then decided how to introduce them into the mix.   
      
      The plot line I'm pulling out of thin air.  I trust myself to pull   
   plot out of nothing, because I think that I have a talent for it.  :)   
   Or in other words, I can do it subconsciously so it doesn't occupy my   
   conscious thinking time.   
      
      I guess it comes down to research (what you don't know), practice (what   
   you do know), and self-awareness (of your inbuilt talents).  Get those   
   down and you'll go pretty far, no matter what field you're in.   
      
   ...                                                                  ...   
   Remus Shepherd    
      New Webcomic:  Genocide Man             http://www.genocideman.com/   
      Life is funny.  Death is funnier.  Mass slaughter can be hilarious.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)