Once upon a time I was a professional

[howeird]

...writer. I worked for newspapers in Oregon and Washington State, my main job was laying out the paper and writing headlines. I have a degree in this, which was earned by not only taking classes, but by writing for the campus paper, working as a proofreader and layout editor and photographer/darkroom tech.

I mention this in light of a recent posting on his blog by Tom Veal which kevin_standlee was kind enough to link to, in which Veal claims a blog's writing quality is going to be poor, as it is usually a "zeroth" draft (not even a first draft). He uses this argument to defend professional writers being nominated for and winning Best Fan Writer Hugo awards. I'm here to say that in my professional writer days, my zeroth draft was better than any amateur writer's "polished" essay. Besides, a professional writer won't be posting what first comes out his fingertips, he will always proofread and edit on the fly, which is something most amateurs will not.

I wonder, if I join WSFS, what I can do to change their constitution to make the Fan Writer Hugo into a "best fiction by a non-pro in a non-pro medium" award. Because, IMHO, they need to do this both to recognize the fen writers, and to make this award more credible.

Comments

[bovil.livejournal.com]

The odd thing is that most fiction writers don't "write for a living." Yes, they're paid for some of their writing, but they only make a fraction of what it takes to support themselves. The edge comes from writing constantly, and having editors who help them hone their works and their skills.

There are plenty of non-pro fanwriters who write as constantly, and who work with faneds just as skilled as any professional editor (unless you're writing for johnnyeponymous). In some cases, they're working with professional editors who are faneds on the side. They've done coursework in English, or rhetoric or journalism. They understand that writing is a craft.

There are definitely SF writers who are not fans. They usually claim to "transcend the genre." There are plenty SF writers who are fans, but who have no interest in fanwriting. There are great SF writers who are mediocre fanwriters.

BTW, Harlan Ellison has a quasi-blog.

I don't think I'd vote Scalzi a preference in this Hugo ballot. I still see some real value in his nomination shaking people up.