Writing - Is It a Gift or Learned?

I wish I knew how to write. As a kid, I used to dream of being a famous author who makes up a story so brilliant the whole world would want to read it. Images of hero's and heroines filled my childish mind. Pictures of faraway, exotic, and magical places flashed behind my closed eyes as the magnificent colors evaded my thoughts. Pirates, buried treasure, daring plots, and heroic acts all flooded within my stories. But, when I tried to put my thoughts on paper - nothing happened. It was as if the paper had become my story and it's author was mocking me... that's when I began to wonder - Is writing a gift or learned?

Some people have a way of telling stories that are so rich in their content and so descriptive in their words that they are able to transport me from reality to remembrance. From being a bystander to being part of what occurred. I find that their words hold power, persuasion, and entertainment. I listen, with slight envy, that they are able to carry others away with them, with little effort, to a world of their own control and in so doing, make something in the past come to life in the present. How do they do it?

So, that's my question to you - is writing learned or comes as a gift? Sure, you've heard of and maybe even taken a crash course on "creative writing" but does that really mean that you can write or that you've merely been given another's road map on how to put words together? I want to learn, really, I do, but it seems that no matter how many novels I read, not matter how many attempts I try at writing, I seem to always fall short of writing a story worth reading.

Perhaps it's my content or maybe a shortage of adjectives in my sentences. Maybe I lack imagination. Perhaps it's a slight of an issue of not putting together the English language well enough (English was never my strong suit in school). I'm not sure, but I want to know. I want to learn how to captivate, entertain, and write articles of content and worth - those things that make great stories. I want to explore the realm of the power of language and how to write in order to stir people but my lack of talent leaves me wondering - can I learn to write or is a lack of a gift mean "out of luck"?

Whichever it might be, I suppose I'll keep writing in order to try to solve my lack of ability and in so doing, perhaps discover another talent that I never knew I had...