Okay. Today I'm going to address some social media drama that you may or may not have heard about.
The other day I got into some Twitter beef...with Elmo from "Sesame Street."
I know! I know! But Stef, Elmo is so unproblematic! How could you possibly have beef with him?
People were coming to his defense, and the sad thing is, Elmo and I used to be good friends. In fact, he was one of the first stuffed toys that my parents bought for me as a child.
Well, readers, here's the thing. Elmo said something so terrible, so unforgivable, that it triggered something within me. He said...now brace yourselves...that "anyone can write."
I know! The nerve of that little red furry twerp!
...
Okay, okay lol. Here's what happened.
Someone on Twitter posted a photo of Elmo on his TV screen with the subtitles saying "Boy, anybody can write a book, huh?"
The guy responded to it by posting it as a joke and everyone had equally funny responses, but then I decided to get serious and WENT IN on it.
I tweeted back this: "I honestly hate the response that anybody can write a book. Yeah, I mean anybody can attempt it and put words together to form something, but can they do it well? It's so condescending to writers who dedicate so much of their lives and energy to perfecting their craft."
To clarify and make amends with Elmo, I then followed up with: "For the record, I'm not specifically hating on Elmo for saying this or encouraging viewers to write lol. I just get annoyed with this mindset in general and just so happened to take this opportunity to address it. lol Poor Elmo. Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat"
This of course got some feedback, both agreeing with me and not, so I was inspired to write a whole blog post about a topic that I have always been thinking about here and there to finally talk about it more straightforwardly and explain my position further.
So, can ANYBODY write? Also, why does this offend me so much?
It depends on what one means by "anybody can write." Like I said, it could either mean actually doing it OR having the talent to do it well.
This blog post isn't to discourage people from trying or pursuing writing or anything else, but...
When I was in school, I would struggle with trying to find the best sources to back up my essay thesis statements and incorporate and cite them correctly because if I didn't then I would be plagiarizing, all while aiming to make the page count.
But anyone can write.
As a freelance journalist, I would worry about errors in my articles, wanting to report as faithfully as possible, as I stressed and pulled my hair, watching my deadlines quickly approaching.
But anyone can write.
Any chance I get, I sometimes reread and maybe even rewrite my blog drafts and even my already published blog posts to perfect them, making sure that I express myself correctly so that I am satisfied with them.
But anyone can write.
I am usually nocturnal, up until like 5 or 6 in the morning working on (or overthinking) my writing or frustratingly trying to make sense of my 10+ different works in progress while also expecting to be a functioning adult during the daylight hours.
But anyone can write.
I'm often hesitant and terrified to share my writing because I'm afraid of people stealing or condemning the ideas and work that I have spent so much time developing. There is also the possibility of upsetting someone with my words and these days people are especially ruthless.
But sure, anyone can write.
When I was in college, a friend of mine who was a Biology major once told me that being an English major must be so easy because all I had to do was read and write all day.
Because anyone can write.
Sometimes people choose English as their major because it is considered the "easy" major or they don't know what else to major in.
Because, of course, anyone can write.
...
You see my point.
I remember my advisor once saying to me that she felt that English majors should "audition" to be an English major instead of the department accepting anyone who wanted to be one. After all, acting and dance majors have to audition in order to be considered for their departments.
It made sense to me, but then I think to myself, would I have been accepted? Am I a good enough writer? Am I a writer worthy of calling myself one, or am I a member of the "anyone" club that is just testing these waters? What is considered good writing? What makes writing successful? Does it have to be profitable to be considered good? Does the individual have to be educated or a professional in some way? Does it have to be good in order to qualify for the "anyone can write" mindset, or does it just have to exist?
But isn't the whole idea that if you write, regardless of your background, level of talent, and professional writing status, then you are a writer, plain and simple? But then again, does this mean that writing and being a writer doesn't have any standards? But it does though...
I am not the world's best writer, BUT I've been writing for as long as I can remember and it is a HUGE part of my identity. To say that "anybody can do it" strips me of that identity and tells me that all of my hard work at this my entire life doesn't matter, because hey, "anybody can do it" anyway.
A lot of times writing isn't even considered a "real job" nor is it easy to find a job in the field.
A good example of this in fictional media is Diane Nguyen from the adult animated Netflix series "BoJack Horseman." I don't know too much about her, but she is a writer throughout the series. She is introduced as a ghostwriter for BoJack's autobiography, she then works for a blog, and finally, she struggles between writing a book of essays or writing a young adult girl detective novel, which she eventually publishes.
At a book signing for her detective novel, she discovers that her actor ex-husband Mr. Peanutbutter wrote his own memoir. When she calls to ask him about it, he obliviously tells her that it wasn't difficult at all and literally ANYONE CAN DO IT and she sarcastically and monotonely responds: "Yes, that's always been my experience."
You can see all of this in this video. I know it's played for laughs and obviously Mr. Peanutbutter means no disrespect, but "BoJack Horseman" is a dark comedy type of show that uses humor to emphasize the severity of everyday darkness. If this didn't happen in everyday life or wasn't a thing, why would they joke about it in the show?
You know, it could also come down to the difference between writing a book and writing anything else.
I don't consider myself a songwriter much, but I have written songs that I actually think are pretty decent and am wondering if I should persue it more. I guess here is where we can say that anybody can write a song. But what I'm not going to do is totally disregard the blood, sweat, and tears of actual lifetime songwriters who have been through so much to compose their music and put albums together. And yes, anyone can sing and I do for fun, but not everyone can hold a tune and make a living on it. Plus, vocal cords have to be tended to consistently.
So yes, let's talk about other fields.
I don't know exactly what goes on in the studio arts fields, but I'll mention what I've observed. Imagine that you are an illustrator or animator who spends years studying for this and finally gets a good job in your field where you spend countless hours creating something for a company or for yourself, like maybe a graphic novel or a short film. You even decide to post your work online to share with others with a watermark on it or something and request that if someone were to share your work, to give you the credit. You carefully craft all of this, only to have someone's attitude toward it be, "It's good work, but anybody can do this though."
This is exactly what writers seem to put up with for some reason. Wouldn't this upset you?
Anybody can take a pair of drumsticks and start randomly banging drums. But it takes a skilled drummer to make it sound good. In fact, drummers carry an entire song, so they are extremely important.
Anybody can act like someone or something else. Heck, I've done this and would like to improve in this area more, but a convincing thespian who can truly transform into a role is what really helps to encompass and sell a scene that much more.
Sure, I can bust a move on the dancefloor (to an extent), but I can and will never be able to do what professional dancers can do. Not everybody can endure the constant physical pain and injury nor do they have the posture, strength, or stamina for this.
Something that I as a writer don't have to consider as much as performers do is my health. Sure, there is mental health, sleep deprivation, poor posture, and perhaps for some faulty eyesight, but for singers, musicians, dancers, actors, etc., blood, sweat, and tears can be quite a reality. Their bodies have to be able to function live to do what they have to do.
A field that really needs to consider health is a chef. Sure anybody can put a meal together, but are you able to provide meals for multiple groups of people a night? Also, is what you prepare good to eat? More importantly, is it SAFE to eat?
Let's take it out of the arts for a sec. Teachers often get the short end of the stick with not getting paid what they're worth and people thinking that their jobs aren't that hard and considering them glorified babysitters. Professional writers totally understand this. :P
People respect those in the medical field and their education though, do they not? It's like someone saying to a surgeon, "Anybody can be a surgeon. Look, all you have to do is take a scalpel and..." That's not how it works! Same thing.
If we look at parenting as a job, hey! Anybody can have sex and be a mom or dad, sure! But how good are they as parents? We as a society have acknowledged that not anyone can raise a child well. But this is a whole different ballgame with people debating over parenting skills and what makes a good parent.
Okay, I'm getting very deep here. I think what it comes down to is how much passion and patience people have to dedicate their lives to something.
Unless it's modelling. Anybody can do that. :P
...
Okay, okay! See? Even I have my own biases. I know that I'm being a total hypocrite here and I'm sorry, but the modelling industry is the one field that I don't take very seriously or find very impressive. For one thing, I don't really use models as a basis of how outfits would look on me. We say anyone can write, but guess what? Everyone wears clothes and most people walk everyday and sometimes pose for photos, but not everyone writes. But look, if I were to talk to a model, maybe she or he would be able to open my eyes to challenges models face. I think health is big one here, such as body image. From what I gather, as opposed to the other professions that I mentioned in this blog post, perhaps modelling is more looked down upon, more so than writing is. Maybe there is more artistry and purpose to the industry than I give it credit for.
This being said, I do appreciate designers for their creativity and abilities. Also, anyone can cut and style hair or do makeup, but only trained and/or skilled hairstylists and makeup artists really know and can implement the best techniques. I guess we can say that models are equivalent to actors much like fashion designers and other similar artists are equivalent to screenwriters and playwrights. They showcase the works of those who did the creating. Plus, I guess it's nice to see how things look through people who do that professionally.
Another thing! Anybody can take a photo! This is another thing that we all do daily now. But it takes a skilled photographer to get the best angle, best lighting, etc.
I can go on and on. The bottom line is, recognize your words and the gravity behind them. If you say "anyone can do it," make sure that the intentions of these words are at least honorable and that you mean "anyone can try." You may never understand the energy or effort that goes into something, unless of course you walk in someone's shoes, but make sure you respect it. Give credit where credit is due and don't trivialize the hard work of others.
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