Exercising Your Inner Writer

I used the believe that before I went to college. I actually didn't want to go to college for years because I believed that writing was a talent, something writers were born with, not something that could be taught in a classroom. I learned a great deal while I was getting my bachelor's in creative writing, and I learned that you can improve as a writer through practice, workshop, exercises and critique. It takes practice to learn to write a well-crafted sestina in iambic pentameter. Now I take on challenges all the time, and I've had some pretty nice short stories come out of those exercises. Things that might not have ever sparked my creative interest if I hadn't tried them.