What makes a good writer?

What makes a good writer? I compare it to the phrase how people "practice" medicine...I "practice" writing, and I'll never get it just right.

The question I had pop in my head is a subjective one, and it's one that I'm always struggling with when addressing my own talents (or lack thereof). When I was a kid, I knew I rocked at all things that had to do with having a firm command of the English language, in my kid-like way of thinking. I knew I wanted to write, I wanted to tell stories, I just wanted to have my way of being heard without needing to be seen. Being an introvert, writing is a perfect way of getting myself out there without really needing to be seen.

College rolls around, and I think oh, I want to be a journalist. Short stories, lot of research, and I want to get in to get my hands dirty and have something different to do every day. My thought was that a desk job just wouldn't jive for me, at least, not a desk job where I do the same thing every day. But I still question whether that was the right path, seeing how I couldn't quite quantify what it was I wanted to do, whether I had the talent, and more importantly, whether I had the passion.

I read one of my favorite writers say that she panicked any time she published something. For one, it's nerve racking because it was as though people could peek into her thoughts and she felt exposed. The other was that she worried that whatever she wrote it would never be good enough, she'd never feel like it had been polished to perfection, and I can relate to both. It's maddening, really. I feel this constant need to improve, and even though I'm confident in my skills, I also feel as though it's never good enough.