Being a Very Online Advice-Giver Has Made My Writing Worse

Author: Jane Friedman
Full Title: Being a Very Online Advice-Giver Has Made My Writing Worse
Category: #articles
URL: https://janefriedman.substack.com/p/being-an-advice-giver-makes-my-writing-worse

As the old saying goes from Edison, “There are no rules here, we’re trying to accomplish something.”
I do in fact believe that, so early on I began to emphasize “best practices.” And I’ve gained buckets of humility. Advice is never universal. Advice can be harmful when it’s received by the wrong person or at the wrong time—or interpreted or remembered incorrectly. (The latter happens a shocking amount.) Expressing brash certitude and forcefulness, a rhetorical flourish I leaned into in my college writing days, I had to abandon. I’m never going to tell people they must be on such-and-such platform or they must do anything. There are way too many “musts” circulating.
- Tags: #favorite
I hate seeing writers play by someone else’s rules, and of course it happens daily. I always know when there’s new advice circulating for writers about social media or email or whatever because everyone starts using the same tactics dictated by a well-known consultant or coach. These people have jobs to do, I have a job, because people want rules, checklists, procedures, and other prescriptive measures to success which have never existed. It’s easier and sometimes faster than figuring it out yourself, but the trick is sculpting such advice to suit your needs and often abandoning it once you’ve found your way.
- Note: Once you’ve crossed the stream, ditch the raft.