Are Human's Natural Born Writers?

As a writer, I love meeting new people and discovering what they do for a living, and over the years, I have met people from all walks of life.

In addition to meeting teachers, doctors, dentist, veterinarians, mail deliverers, (you know most professions we deal with in everyday life), I’ve had the fun of meeting, and in some cases working with, famous Hollywood actors, (I once had a chance of Hollywood stardom as a movie extra!); an NFL Superstar; a Vietnam Cobra Pilot and even a NASA Test Pilot.

As varied as my encounters have been there has always been one thing that has intrigued me. Whenever I would talk about one day pursuing my dream of being a writer or, as in more recent times, when I told the person I was a writer, the general response has always been, “'Oh, I too want to write a book one day.'” How about you, do you generally get the same response?

Recently, this has led me to wonder if human beings are natural born writers or if it’s something else.

Let’s explore:

  

Whether it is to tell a story or record history, it seems ever since the dawn of man, humans have had the desire to write. One can only imagine how the first storyteller felt when he had his clan fans huddled together around the stone walls of the cave as he depicted his version of his first encounter with a bear. Regardless if it were fact or fiction, their drive to tell the story was probably the same as it is for you and me today!

Often times when people ask me why I wanted to be a writer, my answer is pretty much the same, “'I don’t know I just know I’ve always wanted to write.'” I believe this to be true for most writers, established or aspiring. But as with anything, there probably is an exception of a few writers who write simply because they see it as a way to make a living at something they’re good at.

Having said that, for the most part I believe mankind has an inherent desire to write. For most, it’s probably to one day just write a story, journal, keep a diary or tell stories to the next generation. And for others, it’s to become a published author or make a living at something they’re really good at.

No matter the motive, perhaps the need to want to write comes from our human instinct to want to leave a legacy behind. After all, every life has a story to tell. What’s yours?

Until next time,

Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!

T.K. Millin

The Unknown Author