Can writing talent/skill be taught?

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Not an active topic lately but here's my opinion.

Much of fiction writing involves teachable mechanics. Constructing a plot, writing coherent dialogue, drawing characters, developing a theme - all those things can be taught. I have learned a lot, for instance, by reading Orson Scott Card's book on plot. He talks about a creative writing class he taught to elementary school students in which the class wrote a story about a 12 year old babysitter whose infant charge kept crying uncontrollably but always stopped when the parents came home. He asked the kids to keep imagining complications by asking themselves, "And then what happened?" Pretty soon, they had a great story.

This wasn't about grammar or spelling. However, if you can't construct a coherent English sentence or spell most of the words you use, most people won't be able to read your work - so you'd better pick that stuff up, or pray for a wonderful editor.

Practice definitely makes, if not perfect, at least better. I had a high school English teacher who made us write a one-page paper, mostly essays, every week for the whole school year. At the end of the school year I could definitely write a coherent essay. When I got to college my freshman professors all raved over how well-developed my writing skills were. Practice, practice, practice.

As for whether you're born with a talent for writing: maybe. But I think it mostly becomes available to you through constant exposure to good language, both written and spoken. Read, read, read, read! That will help with the grammar and spelling, too.

Finally, if there's a specific genre you want to write, like sci-fi or fantasy - then read a lot of it. You'll develop a feel for what works in those fields. Once you know what you like, you'll be more likely to write what you like, and other people just might like it, too.