In a new post, Kristen Lamb says that writers should always strive for mastery of their craft. “There’s an insidious belief that what constitutes good or bad is a matter of popular opinion,” Lamb writes. “When I started writing seriously, the author culture was vastly different. Most writers aspired to mastery. It was a time when artists outnumbered entrepreneurs.”
These days, writers are more likely to seek marketing help than an agent, but Lamb says that for most of them, the quality of the product – not the promotion – is the problem. The underlying cause? Would-be writers don’t read enough. “Anyone who doesn’t have the time to read doesn’t have the time—or the tools—to be a writer (especially a good writer),” Lamb says. “Craft classes and grammar lessons aside, reading helps fill our toolbox. We are artisans who are crafting people, places, worlds, and concepts using ONLY various combinations of twenty-six letters.”
While quality is somewhat subjective, and no one will ever write a “perfect” book, Lamb says that’s no excuse to give up on the goal of pursuing a mastery of craft. “Mastery takes time, study, practice, commitment, failure, more failure, and discipline,” she writes. “Sad to say we have devolved to a point where the slush pile has been dumped in the readers’ laps.”
Singers, dancers, musicians, and world-class athletes spend decades mastering their abilities. Can writers do less?
