What's It Matter?

A couple of months ago while at a networking mixer a new acquaintance asked what it is I do for a living. I'll never forget the response I got when I said I'm a freelance writer. He looked at me blankly and blurted "Yeah, well everyone's a writer if you give them a pen." Of course, I wasn't about to just let that go. So I sucked in a deep breath and calmly countered with, "True enough; but not everyone can write well." He poked the olive drowning at the bottom of his martini and said "What's it matter? Half the population can't read anyway." When he said that, I knew I had him. I quickly flashed my best and brightest wise-ass grin and asked "So, who's your favorite author?"



He didn't have one. He doesn't read much. Muttered something about not having enough time and reading makes him tired anyway, before he excused himself to hit the bar for a refill. I shrugged his comments off and moved on, secure in the fact that I'd successfully one-upped him.



On the drive home I found myself thinking about what he said. Everyone's a writer if you give them a pen. It irritated me. The whole next day his comments assaulted my concentration to the point that I actually stopped writing midday. Instead I started to examine why in the world I was allowing what this guy said to bother me, even a little.



See, it wasn't really what he said that nagged at me, but that there is really some truth to it - a basis in fact. Not that I think him right, no... not for a moment. But after close consideration I do think him rather, well, average.



Let's face it; there's a large percentage of folks out there who do not regard writing as an art, or even a skill. He's one of them. With the world gone e-mail and the art of the letter all but dead, most people are not what could be characterized as practiced writers. I'm sure the fella was not altogether off base in his assumption that half the population can't read. Now I don't mean that literally. I'm certain that a greater percentage of the industrialized world can and do read, I'm just not convinced that they are practiced readers.  If we're not writing letters (I don't know about you, but the majority of e-mails I receive are not by a long shot well constructed so I won't count them as letters) and not adhering to basic writing and language principals will we recognize mistakes while reading books, magazines or the newspaper? Does it matter if I strive to write well, or will my efforts simply go unnoticed?



After much deliberation I've concluded that yes, it does matter if I write well and yes, my efforts will probably go unnoticed... and they should. By all. No one should take note of smooth, accurate writing. If it reads in such a way that not one person notices a thing about the writing other than the story itself, then I have done my job well.



I suppose it is true that everyone with a pen, or these days, a keyboard can write. Not everyone is going to appreciate a well written and compelling story. Not everyone reads or reads often enough. My martini sipping acquaintance got that right, and he'll probably never become aware of what he got wrong. So, what's it matter?



Maybe it's not for him to know, or even worry about. But as a writer, it is my job to contemplate such things. To elevate my work  - whether it is writing the copy for an advertisement, etching an article, scribbling an essay or immersing myself in constructing novel length fiction. It may never matter to any other person who reads my writings, but it means everything to me.



What's it matter? It matters plenty.