Recently I’ve come across a number of Facebook and blog posts sharing information of questionable accuracy. Some of it was definitely erroneous while other bits were extrapolated from a shaky premise. Those who shared, unknowingly believed they were doing others a favour. I’m not sure why I let it bother me, but it makes me gnash my teeth at how gullible people can be.
Since childhood we’re cautioned not to believe everything we read. Television news and advertisements warn of scam artists and e-mail phishing schemes. Yet false claims continue to circulate and people continue to be fooled.
One thing the internet has done is allow every ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’ to have their say, instantly, and in a very public way, on a blog, in Twitter or Facebook posts, advertisements or e-mail messages. Because a person promotes himself as an expert doesn’t make him one. Because someone states something with apparent conviction, doesn’t make it true.
I think we tend to be lazy consumers, whether it’s of information or products. We trust government agencies to test the safety of almost everything; we assume the CRTC filters out misleading TV commercials; we believe everything on Wikipedia is accurate; we think everyone in cyberspace has our best interests at heart. It just isn’t so!
The “caveat emptor”* admonition applies to more than purchasing items. I look at my shelves of books on the craft of writing, realize how different some of the advice is, and wonder what I should believe. Which ‘expert’ should be followed? There are templates for how a story should unfold, tips for making characters come alive, suggestions for fleshing out settings or cutting down on description, advocates both for and against using prologues and epilogues. Who’s right?
In critique groups we say that any suggestion for a manuscript change is the opinion of the critic. If only one person in the group makes the suggestion, it can be evaluated and discarded if desired. However, if several people make the same observation or suggestion, weight is added to its importance and it shouldn’t be disregarded without a valid reason. I believe the same criteria can be applied to more general writing advice.
If a certain method of writing produces a bestseller for one author, there is no guarantee it will do the same for another. We each bring our individuality and unique abilities to our writing along with our own slant on plot, characters and setting and our own style. Focusing on the work and advice of other successfully published authors is valuable, but still needs to be done while filtering the material through the lens of our common sense. On the other hand, if the person offering advice is a self-made expert, perhaps we need to put some effort into researching its validity.
How do you determine the usefulness of available advice and information?
* Let the buyer beware
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MUSINGS 
The photo caption is funny!
Regarding your question, I determine the accuracy of advice/information in several different ways. I do my own research on the medications I take; after having fertility issues due to a drug my doctor prescribed, I don’t take a doctor’s word for it that a medication is safe/necessary/etc.
With writing advice, I tend to follow very few people’s advice. I know that just because (fill in the blank: outlining/social media use/etc.) works for others, doesn’t mean that it works for me. I’ve worked at this long enough and know myself well enough to be able to intuit what will work for me and what is hogwash (or at least unbeneficial). Like you, I look at the person’s credentials. Even if they’re successfully published, I consider whether they are writing in my genre, if I am impressed with their writing ability (if I’ve read their work), and whether their literary sensibilities line up with mine.
With regards to publishing, I used to follow a bunch of different agent blogs, and became confused and increasingly bewildered (and angered) at the conflicting advice. (The anger was from the attitude of some of the agents.) I finally stopped following all but two writing-related blogs. One, Writer Unboxed, has a good reputation and features a wide variety of bloggers and covers a variety of topics. The second is Chip McGregor’s blog; he’s the one agent whose blog I read where I don’t want to throw something at him at the end of each post! Plus, he has a good sense of humor, which helps me handle the not-quite-sane world of publishing.
Hi, Laura. A little research can go a long way towards sorting out reliability. I’m just surprised at how many people don’t question or research at all. I like Writer Unboxed, too, and Chip’s blog along with a number of other agents’ blogs. I subscribe to a lot of blogs — so many that I can’t possibly visit them all regularly — but I’m glad to be able to stop in occasionally and keep up with their news.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people (not just writers) are afraid to question anything and are either inept or lazy at research. Perhaps they’ve never been taught how to ask the right questions or how to do research. Sad.
Hi Carol –
When I was a newbie writer, the conflicting advice brought a lot of confusion. I’m a SOTP writer, but somehow that is looked down upon in the industry. After many attempts to learn how to plot, I gave up and decided to use the process that works for me.
Blessings,
Susan 🙂
Good plan, Susan. There is no one right way that will work for everyone so I’m glad you’ve found what works for you.