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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Someone help me out with this. Is there an asterisk I’m missing somewhere? Does the freedom of speech part only apply to people in certain employment fields? Because as far as I’m concerned Stephen King had every damn right to say that Stephenie Meyer couldn’t “write worth a darn.” This is aside from the fact that I don’t really think King can do any wrong and I think he hit the nail pretty hard on the head. This is simple freedom of speech.
It’s about owning your words, people. The people going “OMG I can’t believe he said that!” or “how could he say that?” or “respect your fellow writer by not saying things like that!” or “he didn’t have the right to say that!” make me twitch. Now I don’t really swear all that often on this blog, but this ridiculous explosion has rendered it. Shut the fuck up already.
Like I said in a previous post, there’s no reason why writers should be held to such a higher standard with their “co-workers” and “not be allowed” to say such things. I’ve heard the argument that it’ll make you a marketing nightmare. Ok. Because you don’t like every book you pick up and want to express that? If it’s a substantiated claim then what’s the problem? Get over it. Just because I’m a writer doesn’t mean I automatically forfeit my right to an opinion. In this day and age, it doesn’t have to be written on the internet or in a writing forum for the world to find out about it.
This is just absurb. King said Meyer sucks and Rowling rocks. I can guarantee he’s not the only one that feels like that. So why shouldn’t he say it again? Because there’s some implied obligation in the writing world that we need to have a 24/7 love-in? He’s entitled to his opinion and he can say it wherever he damn well pleases. Was it blunt? Yes. Does the truth hurt? Yes. Did he not realize what he was saying? I highly doubt it. Does he regret what he said? Probably not.
I wish I had found this article when the whole “novel in a year” came about and was able to take part in it. It seemed like a really neat idea and I wish the links were still working so I could look over what was done. I’m sure I would have learned a lot. Now I’m just learning things at my own pace and that’s working just as well.
But my pointing this article out isn’t for the novel in a year program that the author did. It’s what she said about writing and what it means to be a writer. There are many, many people out there claiming themselves to be writers. When asked what they’ve published, many say nothing. I’m in that pile. Actually, technically I have been published and recognized. However, aside from the humor award, in nothing really worth noting on a query letter. Anyway, not many people are thwarted about that. An unpublished writer is hardly rare. But when asked what have they written, therein lies the dark horse. A couple of short stories ten years ago. A poem here and there. And they’ll get to the novel “when they feel like it.”
I’m calling shenanigans on those people (how I love that term). Writing does not mean you write a few thousand words every few years and you get to call yourself a writer. Why would those who didn’t write want this title anyway? Is there some prestige attached to it that I don’t know about? Do we get decoder rings? No. Writing involves blood, sweat and homework for the rest of your life. A real writer will find any means to write, will write anywhere, under any conditions when the urge calls for it. The want to write, to tell a story, is constantly there. You don’t have to write tomes a year in order to call yourself a writer but writing something consistently with some kind of goal in mind, be it publication or just to get a story on paper, can certainly render yourself one.
Written under Kate Boddie and part of Absolute Write’s Blog Chain.
At the end of the day, though, I do believe one thing is apparent: writers are masochists. It’s an option they should adopt at BDSM clubs; you get chained to a desk, a pen duct taped to your hand, a notebook glued to the tabletop and a PVC-clad editor standing over you with a cat ‘o nine, tightening your ball gag while berating and rejecting your work over and over and over again.
I’m also convinced that writing is a profession that chooses the person, not vice versa. Honestly, who would voluntarily want a job that included perfecting your written masterpiece only to have it shat upon more times than Jenna Jameson’s been bopped? Maybe you’ll get lucky with a fluffer out of every 100 that pass you by but you might as well shove bamboo chutes under your own nails to save the editors’ time. They already have a million and one people lined up with their pants down and asses bared. Granted, I probably just described half the planetary work force but you get my drift.
