Thanks to my readers who took part in the nature vs. nurture survey. The table below shows how your votes stacked up. I wasn’t particularly surprised by your answers, except for one: I thought some of you would have an MFA degree. Maybe some of you have an MA or PhD in English, but didn’t say. I asked the question because it seems the common denominator for the authors published in every online mag I check out is that they have an MFA.
I tallied my votes, but I’ll give my comments here. On the first question, I checked “sort of” because the only books in my home were a set of encyclopedia that I had to beg my mother to buy, one volume at a time from the grocery! I can remember being read to only one time in my childhood, by an aunt. (And I have a remarkable number of memories of my childhood.) My parents were not readers, except that my father read his Bible the last thirty years of his life. There are other writers in my family, none famous. I have always made up stories; I haven’t always written them down. I have other talents. I don’t believe I was born to be a writer. I don’t have an MFA or any other degree. I do have a goal to be published, but I’ve not yet had the thrill.
So, there you go. Look at the stats and draw your own conclusions. And if you notice that the number of votes varies for each question, that’s because some responded only to certain questions.
QUESTION |
YES |
NO |
SORT OF |
| Were there many books in your childhood home? | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| Were you read to as a child? | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| Are/were your parents avid readers? | 10 | 5 | 1 |
| Are there other writers in your family? | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| Have you always channeled your creativity into writing? | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| Do you have other creative talents? | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| Do you believe you were born to be a writer? | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Do you have an MFA degree? | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Do you write with the goal of publication? | 13 | 2 | 1 |
| Are you already published? | 11 | 4 | 1 |
Linda Cassidy Lewis 
ô! In my country, we don’t have the same programmes. I have a master’s degree but not in fine arts…
I am sorry if I make a mistake in that part.
Thank you Linda for this FINE survey.
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OK, no problem. We’re all brilliant without the MFAs anyway!
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Sorry I missed this, too, so thanks for letting me respond:
Were there many books in your childhood home? Yes, my mom was a librarian.
Were you read to as a child? Yes, see above.
Are/were your parents avid readers? Mom yes, dad no, score as you see fit.
Are there other writers in your family? Sort of — my brother dabbles.
Have you always channeled your creativity into writing? No. I’ve always been a professional writer (business writer), but the creative part is relatively new.
Do you have other creative talents? Yes.
Do you believe you were born to be a writer? I’m beginning to believe it.
Do you have an MFA degree? No.
Do you write with the goal of publication?
I do. I think most writers do.
Are you already published? Sort of — I ghost wrote a book that was published.
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