Is That a Bad Trait in a Writing Coach?
I’ve participated in a number of online writing groups. There are three groups of writers you’ll meet in the typical group. Empowerers and Snobs predominate. The Empowerer takes pleasure from helping other writers succeed. The Snob focuses on the skills already attained. The third group falls somewhere between.
So which group do I fall into? If you’ve read some of my previous posts where I make the preposterous claim that “anyone” can write, you’d probably draw the conclusion that I’m not a Snob. When I suggested on one of the forums that anyone can write, I was firmly corrected! I didn’t say that everyone is able to write to a professional standard, yet that was the immediate interpretation. Woe to anyone who suggests our profession is somehow worth less than our perception of our value.
On the other hand, I am a firm believer that not everyone can craft a read that hooks the reader and glues them to the material. So in that sense, I am an Snob. Writing isn’t an easy craft. Anyone can whip together 400 words, yet only a dedicated writer can do it in a way that seems deceptively simple, yet is very carefully worded. It is a complex art. Not everyone can master it.
I would describe myself as a Snobby-Empowerer. When it comes to writing quality, I’m a perfectionist. Yet, at the same time, I refuse to look down my ski-slope nose at someone who finds spelling a struggle, sentence structure a mine field or punctuation a mystery. If I were to express it in a mathematics equation, it would look something like this:
Intelligence ≠Writing Skills
Not everyone is destined to be a writer as a career. That is a special skill some are able to develop and others aren’t.
But anyone can write a book when someone comes alongside to empower the process. That empowerment can take many shapes.
- It could be primarily as an editor.
- It can be through providing a sounding board.
- It can be through recommending the initial focus, and then assisting, as new ideas arise during the writing process, with reshaping goals or bringing things back on track.
So there needs to be a bit of the snob in your writing coach. You want to work with someone who holds high standards and understands writing thoroughly.
At the same time, you also want to work with someone who offers a flexible working relationship that complements your weaknesses as a writer with your strengths as a person. Your writing coach’s snobbery shouldn’t extend to judging your worth as an expert or judging the importance of your story based upon your mastery of writing skills. Your writing coach should thrive on being an Empowerer. Then you will both win!
