"Competence"

[davidlevine]

Promoted from a comment to this post:

The whole "competence" argument seems to me to boil down to this: "I don't like a lot of the stuff I'm reading. The authors of the stuff I don't like are merely Competent, and clearly this is because they are Not Trying Hard Enough. Try Harder, everyone!" It ignores the fact that not everyone is trying to please this particular reader; even those who are, and are failing, are already trying as hard as they can. Trying Harder is not the answer. Writing your own personal thing, and accepting that not everyone will like it, is the answer.

Comments

[karindira.livejournal.com]

You know, David, I read as many of these threads as I could chase down, and I think the original essay may have been misconstrued. I didn't read it as a plea for more edgy, weird and dark. I read it as a plea for a more careful level of craftsmanship, a more lapidary approach to production. I read it as him asking for more than just "good enough" (competence). He seemed to be asking every writer to make sure he's sending out the absolute best he can possibly produce. Which is, as far as I can tell, the only thing you ever send out, so you're good.

[davidlevine]

I don't think there are any writers who send out less than the best they can do (with the exception of some established professionals who sometimes have to whomp out something fast to make a deadline, but that's hardly ever the case for the markets we're talking about here).

Maybe that's the point

[joshenglish.livejournal.com]

Too many novice writers are told to write what sells, and they read how to books and mimic the stories they read. I'm growing comfortable in the idea that what I write may not be the most popular stuff out there, but there is a market for it. I know I still have to work on the basic craft (a story just came back that said "remove all the adjectives and adverbs and this will sell") and focus my marketing skills, but the most important thing is to write what I write in my way.
So perhaps the fear isn't just that science fiction isn't good enough anymore, but that short science fiction will go the way of the American Sitcom. Almost all of them are The Honeymooners with some updates and variations.

Re: Maybe that's the point

[davidlevine]

Anyone who tells novice writers to "write what sells" and "mimic the stories you read" should be flogged. All of the advice I've gotten has been more along the line of "go to your dark place and stay there" and "show, don't tell."

Re: Maybe that's the point

[farmgirl1146.livejournal.com]

You are right, tell your own story.
Scared copycat companies (some imitating and polluting their own "brands") are what most likely spew out what you don't like. I see a lot of weak imitations with similar cover art to the more explosive grip you/me by the throat fiction. But this too will pass, sort of, with the support of small press publishers who can make it with enough buzz.

Applause

[kellymccullough.livejournal.com]

Thanks for getting so much of what irritated me about the original plus a good response down into one spiffy paragraph. I've been meaning to post something similar but my version was longer and less to the point.

[snickelish.livejournal.com]

Mm, yes, that's what I thought, too - in lots more, much fuzzier words. Thank you for clarifying.

I suspect if I told myself to try any harder, I would just quit submitting and hoard it all in the attic. Maybe that way I'd be Discovered after I was dead, which is very romantic and all, but...

basically OT

[nancymcc.livejournal.com]

I'm reacting to the way "competence" seems to be a shortcut for "merely OK." I object to watering down this word! Competence is, I think, a rare and wonderful quality. I worked with kateyule on Potlatch pubs, and I was quite flattered when she used "competence" to describe my answer to a query.

The glass is half full?

Re: basically OT

[davidlevine]

In this context, "competent" seems to be shorthand for "merely competent" when excellence is what is demanded. I think that we expect competence, even from volunteers, as the minimum standard, no matter how infrequently it is encountered in real life.