“The skill to do comes from the doing.”

“The skill to do comes from the doing.” The saying is attributed to both Cicero and Emerson.

Whoever said it and whether it's baking, writing, wildlife tracking, or any other learned skill, for me doing is key.

Lectures, presentations, reading, etc., give me a starting point, but until I particapate in a hands-on experience, generally I don't "get it."

Give me a recipe and in the process of mixing ingredients according to the recipe insructions, I will learn to bake.

With the assistance of Rock Your Plot, I am learning to plot novels.

Workshops, courses, and how-to books may have jump-started the learning, but the skill comes from the action of doing.

By writing books, I am gaining the skill to write books.

I must have lots to learn and much more skill to gain because I have much, much more writing ahead. Back to doing!