October 14th, 2010 
Admin Question by 10-15 Bride (formerly KK): Does being something other than a fiction writer make you unqualified to answer writing questions?
Can someone explain this to me?
There is one user in particular on this site who has made ignorant comments such as “chubb loser” or “weirdo” and tried telling me that I am a talentless hack with no imagination. Now, I have done nothing to provoke this person. But because I answer questions relating to those writing fiction I am all these things and completely unqualified to answer them.
I have written fiction but because of my lack of patience to fully develop a story I prefer my copywriting (content development for Web sites) and journalism. I know writing and I know what works and what doesn’t. I’ve been writing long enough professionally to understand how to write good fiction even if it isn’t my expertise.
Sorry to make this question primarily about me but I’m curious as to your thoughts on the subject. Does not being an expert in fiction writing somehow make one unqualified? Does it make one a talentless hack without an imagination? Or is a writer qualified to answer general questions so long as they do not require much expertise?
Thoughts?
CompSci: Actually, I have ignored the person and their comments don’t bother me. I was just thinking of the hilarity of it all and decided to pose the question. People like this person amuse me more than they annoy me.
CK1: “Writing non-fiction and a lack of imagination don’t go together.”
People are surprised to read that even content writers must have creativity. You think because I am developing content for Web pages or writing a business plan that I don’t need to be creative? Think again.
I can’t say in a business plan, “This product is good.”
I have to get creative and say something to the effect of, “This product strives to maximize productivity for the user and allow for a broad range of uses” or some such crap. It’s been awhile so I’m a little rusty.
Creativity and imagination are VITAL in both fiction and non-fiction writing.
I’d really like to know who the people are giving thumbs down. Not one of these answers are wrong. It’s very rude for a question that is based on opinion, not fact.
Bailey: The person in question is actually a she, not a he.
Samantha: You are always welcome here. No need to feel unqualified or unwelcome. We all can learn from someone here, even me. I thank you for your kind words and contributions.
Sadie: You up for another drunken spiel? Haha. Lemonade and vodka right here! I’ll behave tonight.
Best answer:
Answer by Shelby Shazam
I don’t agree with the person who’s criticizing you. If a doctor specializes in Oncology, does it make him any less of a doctor? They obviously don’t respect fiction as a notable form of writing.
tell them to hush.
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Well, I really don’t think one person’s (based on what you’ve described, one foolish, immature person) opinion should be of much matter to you, however, I think someone should have at least some knowledge – not necessarily an “expert” – about the topic they’re addressing.
However, I wouldn’t go so far to say that a pre-requisite for using Y!A is expertise. If that were the case, I’m sure a great deal of the users would not be allowed to contribute.
While somebody answering may not be a full-fledged expert it doesn’t necessarily mean s/he doesn’t have anything worth while to contribute.
Ignore whomever is making those silly comments, s/he is just trying to get a reaction from you – which seems to be working.
I think this person who called you “chubb loser” and “weirdo” is an a.s.s.h.o.l.e.
Y!A is all about your opinions. People ask for your opinions, and they should know better than to assume that everyone agrees or to get offended by someones thoughts. Many people who answer questions don’t write at all, or even know the difference between good writing and poor writing, and since you write and clearly know the difference, I’d say that puts you above qualified even if fiction isn’t your area of expertise.
That other user is both rude and completely uninformed. What are all the non-fiction writers doing, if not writing? Where’s the sense in saying only a published author of fiction is knowledgeable enough to speak on writing? It almost makes you weep at the death of logic.
Does this other user realize that anyone can find out about any subject by research and study? Since this is the case, even someone who does not write can proficiently answer questions on writing. Amazing concept.
Go figure, I’ve answered questions on cooking even though I am not a chef. And, I’ve answered them correctly.
Writing non-fiction and a lack of imagination don’t go together. As we’ve seen from some novels, writing fiction and having a great imagination don’t necessarily go together, either. Obviously writing fiction gives a broader range for the imagination, but someone writing an article or essay or true history (etc.) must use their imagination and creativity as well. If, for example, you are reading a history book, you can tell if the writer lacked imagination and couldn’t “see” the scenes about which he is speaking; the book becomes as dry as old bones.
***Note: I’ve always known that the best writers must have imagination, whether writing fiction or non-fiction. It’s surprising that some people don’t understand that.
By the way, thumbs up from me for everyone. I don’t know why the thumbs down…
Once again, I’ve been beat to the punch by someone probably more qualified than I.
I believe I know of the individual in question, and I think it’s all entirely ridiculous. I’m not sure why these people feel that you are any less qualified to give advice about fiction. A good writer is a good writer, and can understand and give common sense advice.
I don’t mean to be rude, but this person has said some very rude things to all of us and also been handing out some poor writing advice. Not only has he been giving out some bad advice, he has been discounting those of us who are genuinely trying to give quality advice.
Some people just lack the maturity to understand the real world. I’ve written a business plan for one of my classes, in the process of creating a fictional business with all the research, and I can vouch for the fact that it is not easy nor does it not require creativity (sorry about the double negative). It’s all a matter of maturity, which some people clearly lack.
EDIT
Ah, my mistake. I suppose there are several of them. Ironically, I received some hate mail today, just on the tail of that question and then this. Fantastic stuff.
Talking about Meta? Yeah, some people can be jerks about it. They’re just overly sensitive. Writers are writers right? The only difference is the experience level?
I love reading your questions, KK, and the answers to them, but I often don’t contribute because I don’t feel qualified enough. All the answers seem so intellectual, and I don’t think I can write something that sounds so elegant, and gets my point across at the same time.
I don’t always feel qualified enough to give a great, professional answer, but I can always give my opinion on a piece of writing, and surely that means something, too…
I think the abusiveness of the person is the issue, not the writing crit.
Obviously the person has not reached the point where they can accept criticism for what it is, let alone a minimum of maturity. Even if I don’t agree with criticism, I make it a point to thank the person and address the criticism, not call the critic names.
Rise above, KK.
She are jest jelus.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
I’m not sure which one you’re talking about (read there are a few of them), but I suspect she is just getting her jollies.
I am not a professional writer, unless you count writing the company handbook, but I know bad writing when I see it.
You, on the other hand, are a professional. A writer is a writer.
I think you are a hundred times more qualified than I am when it comes to giving advice about writing.
Besides, I love reading your drunken spiel. ;P
One can learn quite a bit about good writing techniques and what works and doesn’t work without even being a writer (no matter the genre).
If someone had to be an expert at doing something in order to comment or give advice on it, we’d never have any movie critics because they’d need to be actors and directors themselves, book editors would be scarce since they’d also have to be writers, and art critics would likely not exist.
You don’t have to be good at doing something yourself in order to give sound advice about it.
Besides all that, being a non-fiction writer is not being any less of a writer than any other sort. Many writers make the transition from journalism to fiction writing (Cassandra Clare, Neil Gaiman, and Terry Pratchett to name a few).
I do think it is true that often non-fiction writers will have different techniques and will think about certain aspects of writing differently than fiction writers. Just because one is good at fiction does not mean that person will be as good at non-fiction and vice versa. But that is not true in every case and again, just because someone might not be good at something doesn’t mean they don’t know how to help others be good at it.
I am not a professional writer, but I have helped quite a few people edit their writing and I know good writing when I see it. I also read extensively and can recognize what works and what doesn’t.
So I’m with you KK, this person who made those rude comments is a benighted imbecile.
No, quite the opposite. I often pass some of my work onto a friend who does not write fiction to read. She gives me a lot better and more honest feedback than many writers, which I find quite useful.
When a book/story is published (which I am assuming is the ultimate goal for most writers) it is going to be read by a wide cross section of people in the community. All of those readers are going to have an opinion on it.
As far as I am concerned, Y!A is a free forum. Anyone is welcome to answer a question and share their knowledge with others. I also feel that it is not the place to use insults such as “talentless hack” as I have seen one user write recently. Or another, who, alarmingly, changed their user ID so that their name threatened violence against another user. Come on everyone, lets keep B&A enjoyable and welcoming to all users.
EDIT: Samantha, who says you are not qualified? I have seen some brilliant answers from you in the past. Some great questions as well. People like you make B&A a great place.
I think as long as you have read more than one full length novel you are qualified to comment on fiction. Just because it is not what you specialize in does not mean that you should not be allowed to comment.
I guess since I don’t write vampire fiction then I shouldn’t comment on it then. Also, by that way of thinking, anyone that hasn’t written a full length novel should be deemed unqualified to comment. It’s ridiculous, simply ridiculous.
Woah, what’s with the bunch of thumbs downs? O_o
You don’t need to be a great chef to know if the food tastes good. You eat enough food to know good food when you taste it.
You definitely don’t need to be a professional, full time writer to comment on a piece of writing. You read enough to know good writing when you see it.
And I say non fiction writers definitely do NOT lack imagination. You need one heck of a creative mind to put together a stunning essay, article, catchphrase or whatever. Just picture saying “it’s an essay so it can be boring” to college admissions officers.
@ Twihats: Perhaps. But I got a “he” vibe from Meta, dunno why.
I’m going to be completely honest with everyone here. I’ve never finished writing a story that was actually good material. The only time I ever finished anything, it was the eighth grade, and 22 chapters of complete crap.
But I know books and I know writing. I haven’t finished anything, not becuase I’m not a good writer, but because of both impatience and lack of inspiration. I am, however, able to analyze books and give good answers on here.
If this makes me unqualified, I’m not quite sure why I have this TC badge. And I know for a fact that you, KK, are MUCH more qualified than me. So you really didn’t deserve those comments. And to straight-forwardly answer the question, not being an expert on a subject shouldn’t effect how qualified they are in answering those questions. What makes someone unqualified is not knowing anything at all about the subject.
Edit: I also have to say that I agree with Samantha. I sometimes feel unqualified to answer certain questions. But if I know what I’m talking about or feel that I have something to contribute, I’ll answer the question.
I actually haven’t written anything good at all. I’ve been working on the same rough draft for about 6 years now. Every time I finish it I decide to change something major and it becomes something else.
But I do have A LOT of experience writing fiction, even though it never goes anywhere
: )
So maybe I’m only like half-qualified to answer this writing question.
I don’t think a person needs to be “qualified” to judge fiction; most readers aren’t and that’s who the writer targets. The only qualifications necessary to judge writing are coherency and opinion.
You are part of the writer’s audience when they write no matter what your “imagination level” or whatever. If the writer is doing something you don’t think fits nice, then you have every right to judge as a reader.
Writers don’t just write for those knowledgeable in fiction.
Well, some might, but they’re snobs.
Everyone is a qualified judge of literature if they can read.
We place an unrealistic expectation on literary devices, meaning, and all that crap every good writer should know. A story is only good if it has so-and-so, you must be at least this symbolic to be good, etc, etc, but we’ve forgotten why these things are important; it’s because they draw the reader in and make the book more interesting to read. If an author can do it without them, good for her.
In a way, unqualified readers are more qualified than skilled fiction connoisseurs because they can see past this prejudice and into whether or not the story actually works in a more general sense
So yeah. Everyone’s qualified.