Which of these four factors is more effective in writing?

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Education: The techniques of writing that are taught in college and university or other academies.

Experience : the collection of all personal experiences in life.

Knowledge : the collection of correct realizations of realities.

Talent : the natural and Inherent ability of expression and creativity in writing.

 

You say "three factors" in the title, but there are four in your post. Oh Mans, you silly goose.

I'll have to go with experience, though I'm including experience with books/literature in addition to personal experience.

 

I'd go with talent.

 

Talent

Because talent to express yourself usually comes with some ability to draw on your emotions, experiences and some basic skills in crafting coherent sentences.

The trouble with just experience - a rock star could have the most exciting experiences in the world that doesn't mean he can translate it into anything but a bar story. As for education - that will certainly get you published no doubt about that but without talent I doubt the author will be remembered. Knowledge - you could be a jeopardy winner - doesn't necessarily mean you can craft good characters or delve into emotions. Doesn't mean you can't but...if I have to pick one I'd go with talent.

 

Yeah, I'd have to go with talent, but experience is a very, very close second. Education is important in that we need to have the fundamentals of writing, but one can get that in grade and high school. Knowledge is something that everyone can gather as needed (ie, research).

 

I'd say talent, too.

Education might get you published, but it won't give you anything significant to say.
Experience might help give you something to say, but without talent, you won't be able to express it effectively.
Knowledge (I think @Mans means "wisdom" here) distills and filters your experience, turning the mash of your life into fine whisky. But once again, without talent, you won't be able to express it effectively.

Talent isn't enough to make a writer good; talent needs to be trained. Training takes time and effort, but it's available to everyone. Talent is not. For example, I'm a big, awkward, somewhat clumsy guy and have been all my life. I could train as long and as hard as Baryshnikov, but I'd never be anything but a joke as a dancer. I have zero talent for that.

Education helps. Experience is important, but not necessary. Wisdom is very important, but not necessary. Talent is irreplaceable.

 

Depending on the subject of the book, if it is non-fiction then I would go with knowledge and talent. One doesn't need a degree in a particular field to learn, to generate conclusions and ideas, or to write about an in-depth topic.

 

Poor JayG must be going mental not being able to post on this thread!

 

I have to go with 'education.'

Education gives you skill, and talent without skill amounts to nothing. Likewise, even an untalented person can become a master if they educate themselves enough, i.e. improve their skills enough.

 

Which one has writing practice? I would say that's one of the most important factors. Knowledge and talent are both necessary, in my opinion.

 

@Renee J, I'd jot that under 'education.'

 

You can't have any of these in isolation.


Education includes experience and results in you having knowledge.

While some people are born with more talent than others, talent has to be developed with education and experience.

 

I've fixed the number of factors there in the title.

 

I want to revise my earlier post and say education because I believe it is absolutely necessary for everyone to learn from Swain and Bickham in order to become a good writer.

 

You've left out practice, the kind of education that you get outside school, and reading.

 

Excuse me. When I was creating the question and wrote the title, I had pointing to the three factors, then I remembered another and added to the context but sorrily forgot to change the number.

 

Please tell me you're kidding.

 

I think, practice is a general thing and is included all the writers with every groundwork, whether an academic writer or a talented writer.

 

Ah, but a lot of people think that they should be able to sit down and write decently without a lot of practice. And they're usually wrong.

 

I agree. practice is the basis of skill in every art and technique. There is an old Iranian poet (700 years ago) that say :

" Doing a work good is doing the work much (practicing repeatedly)

 

I never kid around when it comes to giving writing-related advice.

 

Hard writing makes easy reading. - Wallace Stegner
Easy reading is damn hard writing - Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

You are dead to me.

 

I just saw 3 mean looking squirrels pass by my window in the last 5 minutes. I better retract my statement before something happens to me.

 

These guys?



I'll have a word with them.