Great Idea vs. Talent.

A great idea means nothing if the writer doesn't have the talent to pull it off. I would take talent over "great" ideas any day.

Well at least you are reading over your own work and recognizing what you do and don't like. I'm not sure if you read 'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell but after I read that I felt that talent has less to do with innate ability but more to do with practice. So as the old cliche goes, practice makes......(awesome writers?)

Keep writing!

Well at least you are reading over your own work and recognizing what you do and don't like. I'm not sure if you read 'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell but after I read that I felt that talent has less to do with innate ability but more to do with practice. So as the old cliche goes, practice makes......(awesome writers?)

Keep writing!

It's definitely a book to look out for, I think I must have read every book that he's written and liked it. Although it doesnt provide the greatest creative source material I just enjoyed reading his works overall, I really felt like he did some actual research into what he was talking about and I always appreciate that!

You're too focused on perfection, too early in the process. You made me think of a character in the novel The Plague, who wants to write the perfect novel. He never gets past the first line, because he keeps editing it -- if the first line isn't perfect then how could the book ever be? I'm sure you can guess how productive he ends up being.

Just write your story. It won't "break" if you do. If it's not good enough the first time around, then edit, or write it again. All writers edit. But you need something to edit on first.

Ideas are always perfect. Its in the translation from idea into a medium that things are lost. You practice your language so as little as possible is lost in this translation.

Now go write it!

By the same token, talent and 7.50 USD will get you a half-caff, soy latte with a sprinkle of nutmeg at your favorite local overpriced coffee emporium. It takes a willingness to learn, hard work, perseverence, and a hide like a rhino -- along with your talent -- to get beyond the hobbyist stage.

YMMV

I'll take talent a million times over before I succomb to a world filled with the most brilliant of brillant ideas--hands down. ; )

I find myself faced with this problem as I type this and have been fighting it ever since I started writing for fun.
When I have an idea, I mull it over in my head consistently, if only the beginning. I get the situation, setting, characters, and dialog just how I want it, but when it comes to write it, I can't seem to write the in between, the filler, the motion. It's never good enough as what I've just agonized over, so it goes unwritten.
When I do get it down, I can never continue it as I've never thought that far ahead. So, generally, my writing talent disappoints me consistently and I rely on my ideas to get anything done as I want it to. I find my ideas too grand for my current writing talent (or lack thereof) and it frustrates me more than anything.
So, yes, I do believe talent is the be all and end all, but that's not to say that talent cannot be honed and writing outside your skill range could be just the grindstone you need.
Best of luck!