We’ve all heard the snotty guy comment about art saying, “that’s art!? I could do that.” Same goes for writing. A lot of people think it’s easy to crank out a novel, article, short story or even a haiku.
So, why don’t you? Why don’t you spend the time and creative energy in the evenings after your full time job? No, got something better to do? How about Saturdays or Sundays then?
Why doesn't average Joe write? Because, it’s not easy to write. To be successful a writer has to think about their target audience and the voice of the writing. They draw on the years spent studying their craft in classrooms, reading trade journals, networking, observing trends and geeking-out over a thesaurus.
An article or advertisement for 12-year-old girls from suburbia will be different then one for 45 yr old men in New York telecommunications. When crafting a poem or piece of fiction a writer weaves plot, description and character development.
Neither type of writing is a static affair. If a writer has done a good job the writing rolls and pulses and the reader follows along.
What everybody from pro-athlete to accountant has in common is an innate talent cultivated by hours and hour of practice and study. We are all trying to make a living using our specific skill set. With writing and photography (As a freelance photographer as well I also face the same expectations of giving away my work for free) so prolific in our modern society it’s easy to take the things we see and read for granted, thereby placing a lower value on them.
To all the readers and admirers of art - the next time you read something, whether in a magazine, on the web or on the side of a bus think about the how that message was crafted and how much student debt it took to learn that skill. Think about how much money in equipment and software it took to create that image.
And to my fellow writers and photographers - please, don't give your work away for dirt-cheap. It devalues the education, effort and finances that goes into all work and hurts the rest of us.
It’s the essence of capitalism. You don’t give your skills away for free so neither should the rest of us. Kind of funny how the capitalists want the rest of us to be socialists.
