“I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are
sure of."
Clarence Darrow
A writing colleague confessed she does not give
writing/publishing advice, because she does not feel she has the expertise.
Is it lack of humility, or simple delusion? I think in
my case both are contributing factors, but the main driving force is a sense
that there’s not enough knowledge in the world, no matter how much I studied,
that would make me infallible. In the meanwhile, why not share what I think I
know?
This is my excuse for this blog, for my books, and for
continuing to give and take advice with gusto. I hope to always be gaining
expertise, but never become an expert.
12 comments:
Good point. The minute we become an "expert" we've just shut off any future learning.
I love the Clarence Darrow quote, Mirka! I am by no means an "expert" at writing-related stuff, but I help other writers where I can. Every critique I give is accompanied by a "here are my thoughts--take them or leave them" clause, and I eagerly await critiques of my writing from those same writer friends. We may not always agree with all of the ideas and suggestions we exchange, but it makes us think! = )
Clarence Darrow is a very distant relative, but I never knew he said that. Love the quote, though!
I think advice is great, as long as I'm not clobbered over the head with it. :)
Ah, the world would be poorer if we all waited to be experts. Opine away!
I'm always happy to share my experiences and what I've learned, but I don't think I'm an expert.
How many experts are there really? I think we are all works (masterpieces) in progress.
I'm always happy to offer help and my opinion(nicely), but as far as hard-core writing advice, I tend to shy away from that. I still feel to new to the game to do that! And no one wants my help in the grammar department, believe you me. ;)
Yeah, expert is a bit intimidating. Someone I was talking to about a topic I wrote on called me an "expert" on the topic, and I was a bit taken aback. The thing is, because there wasn't a great deal of info out there on the topic, I probably HAD found basically all of it. It was a weird moment.
I agree with you :)
Retain your gusto in giving and taking advice, Mirka. I'm not an expert in anything but am happy to share what I've learned.
Seems you always have spot-on thoughtful advice, keep sharing.
Made me smile, Mirka.
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