Are Good Writers Good At All Types of Writing?

Should good writers be good at all types of writing?

  • Yes. It's all writing in the end - specifics can be learned.

    Votes: 7 12.5%
  • No. It's like expecting a soccer player to be good at hockey because they're both sports.

    Votes: 49 87.5%

  • Total voters
    56
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Mata Hari

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Are truly good writers good at all the different disciplines of writing? Should a novelist be able to write good poetry? Should a journalist be able to write a novel?

Would either of these people be efficient at essay writing and technical manual writing if they had the proper training?

I ask this question in part because I loathe essay writing, and I am terrible at it. But I FEEL like I should be good at it, and that it should come easily to me because I spend a lot of time writing creatively. I know this is illogical, but I'm sure a lot of you would feel the same way. Essays and novels are apples and oranges, but in the end they're both still fruit.

(P.S. I loathe essay writing so much that I try and make it interesting for myself --- I recently decided to give a satirical twist to my essay for a political science class. I endorsed and praised the bloody rule of a tyrannical leader. Not only did I not achieve the overall shock value I was hoping for, but I didn't even manage to communicate that the essay was a satire --- the Prof's comments seemed generally shocked, and he even wrote "I can only hope you were trying it achieve irony". Oh boy. Embarrassing.)
 

geardrops

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Should they be equally good at all forms of writing? No.

Should they try many-to-all forms of writing to expand their craft? Yeah, probably.
 

icerose

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Unfortunately we can't wish our way out of essay writing. But no. Just because someone is a good writer doesn't mean they can whip out a technical manual or a sellable script or an article. These are all separate parts of writing.

It's like telling a sculpter to make an amazing painting. They're both art. Doesn't mean the skills extend to both realms.

Can a writer learn different forms? Absolutely.

Should you buckle down and do it for a grade? Definitely.
 

Mata Hari

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I agree with you, and yet truly talented artists are usually talented in more than one area of art, or even more than one area of any type of visual expression. It's rare that a painter is JUST a painter. Picasso would be a prime example, but on a smaller scale you probably will never encounter a good draftsman who can't sculpt at least passably (and I would venture to say that a good draftsman would 9 times out of 10 be a GOOD sculptor).

In contrast, I wonder why it's rare for a novelist to do anything in writing but write novels... ?
 

icerose

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I think it's less rare than you think. Many novelists here write short stories, poems, articles, blogs, the list goes on.
 

Jamesaritchie

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In contrast, I wonder why it's rare for a novelist to do anything in writing but write novels... ?

I think it's rare for a novelist to just write novels. Most I know also write short stories, articles, and essays. Many write nonfiction books, and more than a few write screenplays.

From my experience, a really good fiction writer can write pretty much anythng well, but a nonfiction writer often has no clue how to write fiction.
 

Libbie

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I didn't vote, because once I saw your options they threw me off.

I do think that "good writing" is something anybody can learn, if they have the desire to learn it and the personality to be a productive and effective learner.

That being said, who has the desire to become really good at all types of writing? I mean -- fiction, memoir, nonfiction and all its various subgenres, poetry, stage, film, technical writing -- oi!

I don't want to be good at it all, even though I'm fairly sure it's possible for a person to be. I'd rather focus my energy at becoming really excellent at just one or two.
 

William Haskins

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stephen king wrote the user manual for my vacuum cleaner.

scared the shit out me...
 

Tara Stone

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I'm much better at fiction writing than I am at nonfiction writing. When I was younger, people used to suggest that I work for a newspaper when I grew up because I loved to write; that always confused me, because to me those two types of writing are completely different.
 
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I get people saying to me all the time, "Why don't you write short stories? That'll help you get published."

"Uh...because I'm a novelist."

"But they're stories."

"You really have no fucking idea, do you?"

Different forms of writing are entirely different animals. Should I write those different forms? Christ no. Can I? Hell yeah.

I just have no interest.

Neither do I have an obligation.
 

thethinker42

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I'm definitely not. I think I'm good at romance, erotica, even some fantasy/SF...but only novels and the occasional short story.

Poetry? God no.
Screenwriting? Maybe, never given it a lot of effort.
Technical writing? Kill me now.
Ad copy, brochures, websites, etc? NO.

But a novel? Yeah. I can handle a novel.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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I like to think I can write fiction. And I believe I'm a decent non-fiction writer, depending whether I'm interested in the topic... but poetry? Forget it. I haven't a clue. And I know nothing about screenwriting. I'm horrible at copywriting.

So, no I don't believe that being a writer means you can write anything. Like anything else in life, some things you excel at, others you struggle with.
 

the addster

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I suck at romance and erotica. It's laughable, I do write it sometimes, but end up marveling at my ineptness.

I wouldn't even venture near sci-fi or fantasy. Why should I? To be honest neither genre particularly interests me and their are a lot of folks who are good at writing that stuff.

Poetry, I can do it, but I don't particularly enjoy it.

Technical writing? ROTFL, I wouldn't have a clue.

I'll stick with non-fic and memoir, a short story from time to time, and maybe someday try a novel. Thanks. It's enough.
 

The Lonely One

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I asked in the Uncle Jim thread why I could pop off 2,000-3,000 word stories like pez from Boba Fett's neck, but had trouble reaching word count in a novel or approaching the process differently.

He said "maybe you aren't a novelist."

I was all like, huh, I never thought of that.

I'm still hoping I can be a novelist, though.

The point is I thrive in the short story world, which a lot of novelists seem to not want anything to do with. We each have our areas where we shine.
 

ChaosTitan

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Should they be equally good at all forms of writing? No.

Should they try many-to-all forms of writing to expand their craft? Yeah, probably.

What she said.

I've tried all sorts of writing, but I think I'm best at novels and screenplays.

Short stories - still getting a handle on, and getting better
Poetry - I can't write good poetry to save my life
Technical writing - nope
Essays - I can write them, but it's not a favorite thing to do
Journalism - I got a C- in my only journalism class, so nope. Not my style
 

Bubastes

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What the others said. I'm good at long short stories and I'm starting to get the hang of novels.

Technical writing - surprisingly, I'm good at this (it's the first kind of writing I learned how to do). It doesn't mean I enjoy it, though.
Essays/memoir - I'm okay at this, but I don't enjoy it.
Screenplays - no clue where to start.
Poetry - my attempts would make your eyes bleed.
Journalism - I can do it to some extent on limited topics.
 

Misa Buckley

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I've written article essays, but it has to be something that interests me.
I've written short stories, but they're all under the fanfiction banner.
I've written poetry. I've had one published in an anthology.

But what I enjoy writing most is novels. Okay, I've not finished one yet, but that's a goal I'm working towards.
 

KTC

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I am by no means a good writer. Let me get that out of the way first.

I came to writing in 2003 with a lifelong desire to do it...and a lifelong belief that I couldn't. I held writing in too high esteem to consider myself worthy.

After fighting against my creative urges for forever, I came to it with three goals. I decided to just go into it full-on passion.

Goal #1 - (The only serious goal, really) Get a novel published

Goal #2 - Get published in as many ways as possible...just to see if it was possible to get into a whole bunch of different types of writing.

Goal #3 - Always have fun...up to that point, I was creatively miserable. I was opening the floodgates and promising myself never to close them again.

My first submission was for a national newspaper. A first person essay. It got accepted. I thought, "Wow! This is cool. What else is there? What else is there!" The next week I found out about a radio publication. I submitted a memoir piece. The next week I was in Toronto at CBC Radio...recording the memoir piece for a future national airing. I thought, "Wow! What else!"

After those, I tried to find anything weird and normal...just anything. Just to add more to the list of ways I got published. They now include:

-radio ads
-advertorials
-memoir
-articles ranging from dog poop to interior design to optometry to all sorts of medical topics to baseball to hockey to etc, etc, etc.
-regular columns for writers, for hockey parents, for family life
-poetry
-company profiles and materials
-travel
-speeches
-biographies
-web writing
-plays
-short stories
-humour
-press releases


Goal 2 is getting there. There are still a few types I can think of that I don't have covered.

Goal 3 - I'm happy to say that I have that one covered. If I wasn't having fun, I would stop writing.

Goal 1 - The only one I cared about. NOT SO MUCH. I'm still trying, though. Never give up.

I am not a good writer. I try to understand what is needed and I try to fulfill that need for the target market. Just as I would figure out how to fix my dish washer if it suddenly broke down. I don't think that makes a person good as much as it makes them capable.
 
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Mr Flibble

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The phrase 'Jack of all trades, master of none' springs to mind. :D

Novels are my preferred medium. I quite like shorts too and I'm trying a novella. By that's just a matter of length, not style or much difference in craft ( except for pacing) Poetry - well I'd like to able to but....

But journalism say is sooo different to fiction, why should you have to be good at both? Or take the humble query - there's plenty of people who can write a great novel, but can't write a query / blurb to save their lives without a lot of help. It's a completely different set of skills to writing a novel

Which is why publishers employ blurb editors :D

That's not to say you shouldn't try, as a learning experience. Just that you can't expect to be good at everything.
 

C.M.C.

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I would say no without equivocation. Even as someone who would consider myself a good writer, there is plenty out there that I would be terrible at. I would find it impossible for someone to be able to write in every form equally well. It's like asking an athlete to be a professional in every sport. It's not going to happen.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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But journalism say is sooo different to fiction, why should you have to be good at both?

Actually, one of my journalism profs always said, "Journalism is literature in a hurry."

The only reason I'm not a newspaperman today is I'm too shy to talk to people. Kinda hard to dig for a story that way.
 

Lady Ice

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The sports analogy is good. There are cross-overs with skills in sport but the qualities vary in importance.

Different skills are needed for each form:

Journalism: Very good vocabulary. Knows which word to use to get desired effect. Observant. Empathetic. Politically minded.

Poet: Love of language; enjoys word play and rhythm. Ear/feeling for rhythm. Pictures and feels things vividly. Very in touch with their emotions. Observant but of people's quirks and emotions not political viewpoints as a journalist might pick up.

Novelist: All depends on the genre, really- so ability in your chosen genre. You are a cross between journalist and poet; the ratio depends on your writing style.

Short story: You can create vivid impressions with just a few words. You get down to the core of the story and are very observant.

Playwright: You know how the theatre works. You are good at dialogue and very good at subtext. Can show feelings and tension through stage directioned movement. Understands dynamics between people. Cross between a poet and journalist. Not easy to transfer from play writing to novels as novels are much longer and you can feel as if you're just putting in filler.

Screenwriter- Like a playwright, except you know how films works. Can picture things vividly- use an image shorthand. Good at action and good with dialogue.
 
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