Officer: "Do you all know why you are here?"
Recruit: "We're here because we're the best of the best of the best, SIR!"
J: "You have absolutely no idea why you're here, do you?"
(scene from 'Men In Black' - 1997)
I'm a lousy writer. I'll never be the best. I don't even try.
When it comes to running 100 meters, Usain Bolt is the best. Holder of the World Record, winner of most World Championship and Olympic gold medals and such a fantastic character that I wonder why nobody ever thought of writing a novel about him: "The name is Bolt. USAIN Bolt..." That story would run all the way to the top of the New Joke Times Bestseller 100 in about 9.572 seconds.
There are others who come close, sometimes so close that we need a photo of the finish to see who the winner is. If Usain Bolt would run 1.500 meters or a marathon, others would be faster. It is possible that next week somebody else will break his World Record. But running is an exact science and almost everybody in the world agrees that now (spring 2016), when it comes to running 100 meters, Usain Bolt is the best.
Who is the best writer? You might think that the number one on the New Joke Times Bestseller list must be a good writer. Wrong. The bestseller list is only a list of companies who did the best marketing on selling books. When you buy a book, you haven't read it yet, so the list is about spending money and not about the quality of the story. Also, there are lots of free books, shareware books and classics like 'Romeo and Juliet' or 'Don Quixote' who are in no list of selling stories but lots of people mention them between their favourites. If we think about 'the best writer', we can't use the bestsellers list.
Writing is art. Art is not an exact science. Art is a matter of taste. When it comes to writing, there is no such thing as the best book or the best writer. My favourite Fantasy writer is Tolkien, but I admit that Robin Hobb comes close. Imagine the dialogue when Tolkien and Robin Hobb meet at the annual Fantasy Fair. Would Tolkien say: "Ha, ha. I have more readers than you, I sold more books than you, and Hollywood has made Oscar-winning movies of my stories, so I'm a better writer than you are. If you are in doubt, I challenge you, next week in the New Joke Times Book Arena, to a race..."? Or would he say something like: "Hello Robin. How nice to meet you. I have read your books and I think they are great. They inspire me to write even better stories. I hope you liked my books too."?
Why is it so important to be the best? In running it is clear: the best gets all the attention, all the sponsorship deals, all the fame, all the fans and all the money. In writing, Tolkien has, thanks to the movies and the merchandising, more readers and fans than Robin Hobb, who's stories didn't make it (yet) to the big screen, although it might be possible that Robin Hobb is the favourite of the two between all readers who read the books of both writers. Who is the best writer? Imagine that there is one book that is worldwide elected as 'the best book'. That would make things easy. No other books needed? Burn the rest? What if I don't like that book? Why is it so important to be the best?
Writing is art. In art, there is not such a thing as 'the best'. In art, there are works that are more popular, works that get more attention and works that get better reviews, but all we can conclude is: they are all good. There are people who like them. And the only conclusion we can draw about writers is: if you wrote a book and can find one person who likes it, you're a good writer. Or perhaps we'll need something more. For me, it's also good when a book has moral. Personally, I don't like to read about fifty ways to turn a nice girl into a slut. So I suggest: if somebody likes your story and you defend the good, you're a good writer.
Now we come to the part where opinion mixes with exact science: what is 'good'? That's like asking: "Describe 'time' to me." Everybody knows what it is, but... giving a decent definition of it is not so simple. Writing is putting something into words, so others understand it. A good writer should be able to make it clear what 'good' (and the opposite: 'bad' or 'evil') means.
YOU ARE READING
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