Good Writers Are Few and Far Between
It’s an admirable dream to want to write and one that I fully and completely encourage in every individual. However, much like singers, very few people can actually write well. In fact most people cannot write well for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they have little to no grasp on the English language (whether or not English is their first language) or they just have no talent whatsoever. Unfortunately it’s usually both that bogs them down.
What I can’t, and probably will never, understand is why some people seem to believe that they have talent, even when they’re told they don’t. I admire them for standing up and not bowing down, but at the same time I just have to ask them “What the hell are you doing? You can’t write/sing, so why bother? It’s not like you’re going to get any better, especially since your lifelong dream is to become a published author.”.
Usually their response is less than pleasant (if I get any response at all). While I think that everyone can learn how to do something well to an extent, I think some peoples ignorance holds them back and stops them from ever realising their dreams. I think everyone should at least take a crack at writing, but I also think that they should look at their own work with a critical eye and ask for opinions and critiques on their work, especially if they plan on becoming published.
So in short: Write your little hearts out, but please for the love of God, ask for opinions and if you’re really serious, well make sure you have a shot at it before condemning yourself to a label of mentally challenged psychopath forever, or, like, make a fool of yourself.
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#2
One problem that occurs with talentless hacks asking for opinions is that other talentless hacks see themselves in their reviewees’ writings. So they tell them the writing is good in the hopes that the other person will reciprocate and a warm, fuzzy feeling will be had by all.
Thus, when someone who actually looks at the work and reads it and views it with a critical eye instead of a generous one, and then tells the writers that their writing is, well, not so hot… they go crazy. And they start saying things like, “Well, other people like it, so you can shut up.” They justify their writing in their minds. And once you get to that point, there’s no turning them back…
From there, the proliferation of bad writing ensues. It’s a similar problem with singers, and is why so many tonedeaf fools try out for American Idol.
#3
Everyone have their opinions about everything, You may think someone is a bad writer or someone can’t sing ok we all get it. I know that this is directed to me and my stories mainly and like i said it’s ok that some people do not like my stories or writing styles. I won’t try and force you to read Caught In Between a story i happened to have been writing since 2002.
I have had one bad comment before all this started and i ignored it and moved on. If you think my work sucks then the only thing i can say is thank you, i’ll work harder to achieve my goal. The stories posted on my sites are just things i wrote down from experience. I just want you to answer this one question without you deleting my comment or bad mouthing me all over the damn net, just answer this one question. Why do you care? It’s a very simple question and i would love to know why do you and your followers care so much.
I’m not perfect i make mistakes just like others do and i never once said i had talent and that i’m the best writer in the world. I know i need to improve and i will, I type for the readers i have gotten since i started. I don’t type for you of your friends. If anyone wants to read my story then good do so if not oh well. Even if i only had ten readers i’ll still post up the updates and as i said before this won’t stop me from writing it only makes me stronger.
Lena Nov 15, 04:00 PM Permalink
#4
Well, personally I think it all comes down to taste. Even published authors have different styles of writing, so what someone might like, another won’t. Although, if you’re talking about people that cannot make comprehensible sentences and don’t know how to spell worth a darn, I completely agree with you.
#6
I agree with you that people who wish to be writers need to look at their own work with a critical eye, but there will always be that one friend that these authors can go to who love their writing. Personally I hate hearing criticism on my writing. I am well aware of the fact that my spelling and grammar sucks and am working on it. It is for that reason that I don’t show my writing to anyone. Perhaps in time I’ll gain the confidence to be able to share it and as others for help.
May be that is what people should start working on. Learning how to take constructive criticism.
#8
I absolutely agree! I don’t understand why people take criticism (not just in the realm of writing, but just every day life) so damn personally. Criticism, if just, can help you improve yourself in ways that you had not realised you need to improve in. I suppose some people get so bogged down in needing to be validated that they take criticism as an insult and completely ignores the link between the criticism and the writing itself. =/
#9
I like to write , but I know I’m not the greatest and for that reason I’m not pursuing it as a career or anything.
I think bad singers bother me more than bad writers though, and there I agree with you totally. It’s really hard to improve singing even with voice lessons, if you can’t even carry a simple tune to begin with. I used to be in choir, so I had to witness it every single day… and the horrible thing was that those people were always the loudest of the bunch.
You should know what you’re good at and what you’re not so good at. Foolishly thinking you’re a good singer/writer.. is well, foolish. It’s like me trying out for dance team or something… stupid and a waste of time, really.
#10
Yea the bad english sucks, especially if it’s really, really bad. Just unreadable. Or those ‘stories’ that are made up by people that watched too much Dragonball Z, think they’ve all got powers and stuff. Sometimes it does have a story but it lacks the emotion and feeling behind it. I don’t like to read that much, so I don’t know what a story makes a good story. Then again, I don’t read much =p
Hi I'm Becky, often referred to as The Knitting Hillbilly and Pussybear, owner of this site and general nuisance. I'm a knitter, serial complainer, known whistle blower and I run the ever popular
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