In which the editor indulges in navel-gazing

[word_geek]

I've had this thought kicking around in my head for...oh, nearly my entire career now, but a tangential post on mmaresca's blog last week hauled it back out of its shadowy corner again: Why is it that most people think they can write?

Comments

[jacquilynne]

I think that's certainly part of it, but more importantly, people regard writing as intrinsically tied up in having something worthwhile to say. Thus, telling them they're a bad writer is akin to telling them their point is stupid. That may not be the issue at all--their point may be worthy, if badly expressed--but I think that's the feeling a lot of people get.

[amyunbounded]

I think of an editor as being like a therapist -- you'd probably figure out what your problem is eventually, but they can save you an awful lot of time...

It seems like a lot of people enjoy writing, disproportionate to how good they are at it. Part of it is the sheer pleasure of creating new worlds, new lives, scenarios where it didn't take you half an hour to come up with the perfect comeback. But there are other ways to indulge some of the same impulses. RPGs, for example.

[captain_squid]

I think, in addition to the very good points above, your perspective is skewed by spending so much of your time dealing with writers

[fluffiana]

It sounds like your question is not so much, "Why is it that most people think they can write?" as "Why do so many professional writers feel threatened by editing?"

I know that in my career working with computer programmers, it can be very difficult to get them to write down anything, sometimes even emails, because they just don't see the value added by doing so (and, I supppose, sometimes because they are just slow typists and would rather be doing something else).

[mmaresca]

With other artistic endeavors, people are only too happy to admit when they can't do something: "Oh, I can't even draw a stick figure," "No, no, I can't dance," "Um, no, you really don't want to hear me sing."

All I have to say is, the audition phases of shows like "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" prove otherwise. You see that same level of self-delusion of ability.