The Paradox: Are Creative Writers Born or Made?

 The Paradox: 

Are Creative Writers Born or Made?

Zarena C. Hermogeno 

Let me tell you a secret: I'm cursed. 

The whole tenure of my campus journalism life seemed like a pre-determined doom. Year after year, I would compete in the Division Schools Press Conference (DSPC) and lose. I don't even know if my SPA (School Paper Adviser) even believed in my "potential" or just included me in the roster because there was no one next in line. 

The bittersweet moment replays as of this writing as I slowly glance upon the tarpaulins at the school grounds with the names of my classmates and friends plastered on them. And I still feel the same emotion I did 4 years ago, the pang of envy and regret.

I was haunted by this curse of losing. It seemed like a shadow that followed my every trail. It hides behind you when you are faced with bright hope, and yet it is still there--waiting for darkness to engulf you and consume your being then again. 

I maneuvered to every corner, looked at every corner, took a leap of fate, and even made a deal with deities. But even waging with divine intervention on the pew chairs of the Immaculate Concepcion Parish didn’t stop the curse. 

I was standing in a hall of mirrors, looking for that shadow but in every corner, there is me. 

Fate or failure?  I didn't know who or what to blame. I knew that even an individual at best is not enough, but I felt from deep within me that I pulled every fiber of my being to even land a place and be well-deserving of my role. 

But maybe the judge from TV5 was right when she to me: "Baka hindi talaga ito para sa 'yo, hija." 

Maybe I was just delusional and trying to fit myself in the shoes that weren't my size to begin with. 

Maybe, it wasn’t meant to be after all.

Four years ago, as I dragged my aching feet towards the mountainous terrain of Amparo High School, I threw my 5-inches heels, shouted my self-deprecating woes out and vowed upon the mystical gods that may (or may not) hear my screams that I would never pursue any endeavor related to journalism ever again.

It is indeed hopeless when you kept on trying but your efforts aren’t deservingly rewarded. It’s as if you’ve walked for miles only to find out your destination was a dead end. 

Where do you go from there? Most say, just…give up altogether. 

With that thought in mind, I was determined that I was meant for another path. I finally closed that dark chapter in my life and bid good riddance….

— Or so I’ve thought.

For so long, I was fixated at the thought that my fate was not in journalism at all. Until my high school friend, David, gave me a book by Malcolm Gladwell titled: "Outliers" for my eighteenth birthday. I personally requested books that would change my life, and surprisingly, it did. 

"Outliers" is all about the story of success supported by data-driven findings from various studies to figure out what drives success. It probes that external factors have a lot to do with people’s successes and that our failure isn’t entirely due to our own doing at all. 

Among its key concepts include the factor of TIMING as a critical component of success and opportunity. Some people may have been born in accordance to a certain timeline by which his/her maturity or coming-of-age maximizes his/her full potential in doing a certain task that would lead him/her to success. An example in the book stated that the top IT entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley were born between 1953 and 1956--just in time for the industrial booming that paved way for successful startup projects during their time. 

Upon reading this part, it has dawned to me that maybe my high school life was the developmental stage for my skills and abilities--that it was a part where I had to find the reason in pursuing something may it be positive or negative. 

The pandemic happened and everything was put on halt. This badly affected the financial situation of my family back in 2020, that's why I had to find a side-hustle to earn a bit on the side to help. That time, there was a scarcity in freelance content creators and writers since most advertisement companies work on-site to oversee promotions. Fortunately, I did find work. Since 2020, I work as a paid freelance writer-enough to provide food on the table and side-dishes (if you know what I mean). 

The nature of my work provided me an opportunity to hasten my writing skills and be more adaptive to every demand. I became more flexible in my writing styles and versatile in adapting to different writing themes. By and by, not only my skillset was sharpened but my confidence also flourished. 

This is also related to another factor in Gladwell's book: The 10,000 hour rule. It has been said that for a person to master a craft, he/she must render 10,000 hours doing it. This can be equivalent to roughly into 5 years of work. The case mentioned in the book was the upringing of Bill Gates being born to an affluent family that gave him the opportunity to pursue tertiary education with free coding programs. He continously rendered those 10,000 hours while he was in college and by then gave birth to what now powers your device to read this, Microsoft.

Indeed at my current two-year experience, I still have got a lot to improve with my writing styles and grammatical structures. But 5 years isn't that long if you are committed in achieving constant little efforts. Burnout really is inevitable but when accompanied by compliments and generous feedbacks here and there, it serves as a subtle reminder to keep you going. 

Some of my clients provide feedbacks on the quality of work I submit to them, appreciating every nook and cranny of the written output. This gave me meaning to push through even if things get really tough--someone believes in what 

I can do, might as well be better. This is also pin-pointed out by Gladwell that meaningful work helps drive mastery. If purpose is instilled in a person's work, there is a high likelihood that person will succeed, due to the effort and value exerted in order to produce a job well done. 

Overall, Malcolm Gladwell emphasized that the main findings of what drives a person's success: Timing, Practice, and Intention. Attaining a successful writing journey, may it be through the creative genre or not, is like finding a needle in a haystack: it seems impossible but it is possible. You are born capable to find that needle but needs fateful timing, practice, and meaningful intention to find it in the haystack. 

(Creative) Writers are born with the opportunity to be successful-by which their coming-of-age seemingly adjusts for them to meet this successful breakthrough. However, if not made proper action to or effort in achieving, this "opportunity" in the form of “luck” or “fate” would be for naught. 

 

 

 

My timing back then wasn't right for a breakthrough. But the joint existence of fateful timing and constant efforts became my opportunity to attain certain skills that has landed me my first nation-wide feature in a newspaper column, job as a managing co-head for aspiring reporters, and a news writer for the campus newsletter

I am still cursed as my vow didn't happen: I am still a campus journalist pursuing media studies as a prospective profession. 

But maybe this is what they call a "blessing in disguise"?