on Writing Forward:

If you want to play sports on an athletic team, you must attend practice. If you want to perform in a theater production, you must attend rehearsals. If you want to become an artist, you produce many paintings before you hang one in a gallery.

We broadly accept that to do anything at a professional level requires practice, and practice isn’t limited to professional pursuits—many people pour blood, sweat, and tears into mastering their hobbies, from knitting to playing video games.

At the same time, there are people who don’t believe the rules of practice apply to them—people who think they are naturally endowed with the skills or knowledge to write at a professional level without any training, study, or practice, as well as people who feel entitled to success regardless of their effort, merit, or talent.

But even if we are talented at writing, we will need years of practice to reach a professional level of skill.