Crippled by the lack of talent
I know what the usual comments/advice will be:
"Write because you love it."
And I genuinely don't even disagree with this statement. I DO enjoy writing. The issue is that just the love of writing has never been enough for me. I'm not saying I want to be an author that sells a bajillion copies and win the Pulitzer. I'm not trying to be the next Shakespeare (that would be nice tho lol)
Though is it too much to ask to want to create work that is good or great? I'm not someone who just writes for myself. I want to share my craft, I want others to enjoy my stories and genuinely improve. It's just that fact that knowing I can spend eons reading different works, drafting, editing, and other stuff to hone my craft and still never be good just kinda suck ngl
What brought me here is stumbling on the Stephen king quote about good and great writers. Specifically the part about how a good writer can never become great without talent. I understand that just his view on the topic and he is no way the sole authority on writing (I think he said something akin to this in the book) .It's just hard to see how much success and experience he has and not think who am I to disagree with him
Idek what I'm even looking for. Maybe reassurance to cope or maybe I need a splash of cold hard truth that I will never ever become good.
I'm trying to go back to writing after taking a pretty massive break (school, health, family emergency etc) and this shit just keeps getting to me. It's hard to not think about how futile this feels when I'm trying to write
What do you guys think of untalented writers and those who try to become great even if they don't got "it". If "it" even exist
Posted Feb 21, 2026, 5:23 PM UTC