"An author on Facebook the other day noted, quite correctly, that writing is a craft and as a craft it can be evaluated fairly easily. This isn’t about whether a story is to your liking, but rather, does the author know the basic rules of writing a story? Rules can be broken, of course, but they must be broken with some skill — breaking the rules out of ignorance creates, you know, a fucking mess. A writer not knowing the difference between a possessive and a plural is not some avant-garde hipster trick. It’s a basic lack of craft awareness. At that point you’re not a marksman doing tricks; you’re a toddler with a handgun." More brilliance from Chuck Wendig
This actually ties into a really good piece I read the other day on the death of expertise. There is this bizarre notion that everyone's opinions are equally valid and it is just mean to provide critique. Here's a little tip - an educated opinion is more valid than a uneducated opinion, and educated critique is actually a really important tool to raise the quality of a work, be it dance, cooking or writing. I think a lot of writers could benefit from more critique and harder editing, and a bit less having sunshine blown up their arses.
