The Curse of The Natural

Most people have certain things that they are exceptionally good at. Some people can shoot baskets. Some people can run like hell. I can string together words.

I love the fact that writing comes naturally for me. It makes it fun to write. I can be productive and at the same time relax, ponder, or write a story that keeps me on the edge of my seat.

Of course, with this gift comes a price. I have no idea why my writing does or doesn't work. I think that melody and rhythm are very important aspects of writing. I add those aspects to my writing innately. I'm a musician (which also comes naturally to me), so sounds are a part of me as much as words are. Unfortunately, I cannot teach it.

The large part of my learning experience has been understanding why the things I do work. It can be maddening trying to break down something that you largely never think about. It's as difficult as breaking down every single thing you do when you walk.

You might wonder, why even bother doing this? There are two reasons. For one thing, I want to teach. I cannot teach somebody to be rhythmic by telling them to just feel it inside and do what feels write. Some people truly have no rhythm. I need to break down the theory and components of rhythm in order to teach them. The other reason is that I want to get better. If I don't understand what I am doing on a technical level, then I can't know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. I may be good enough, but I may be on a plateau and not get any better than I am. When I know where I came from, I will better know where I am going.

If you are not a natural, if you are somebody who has to scratch and claw and work twice as hard as anybody else to learn something, you can consider yourself to be lucky. Rest assured that you will understand a subject more thoroughly than anybody else could. You will also be the best kind of tutor and the4e best kind of teacher.