Be Cool

Dave Thompson is the author of The Unbelievable Origin of Superspiff and the Toothpick Kid and is the co-editor of the podcast magazine Podcastle.

The first time I met Mur Lafferty back at Viable Paradise X, she passed onto me some of the best advice I’ve ever received. “Be cool to everyone.”

Simple, right? It’s the Golden Rule – essentially what Jesus told his followers was the greatest commandment, and it’s the same one Rufus passed down to Bill and Ted. It’s the essence of Chili Palmer. And as far as advice in writing goes, it’s some of the best I’ve ever received.

Here’s the thing: as writers, we read. A lot. We read novels stories, articles, blog posts, forum discussions. We’re passionate about it, so some of us participate in active discussions, blog, or host podcasts.

But lately, I’ve noticed something that bothers me: new writers shredding not just other writers, but other writers’ work. I’m not talking about calling an author out because they said something on their blog you disagree with, or because it’s just so unbelievable that so many people would want to buy Stephanie Meyer’s new novella.

I’m talking about being an ass about a story one of your peers has written.

Now, let me be clear: I’m not talking about criticism. Criticism is good. If you’re a writer, you know this. I’m the co-editor of PodCastle, where we have some pretty active story discussion forums. I’ve heard that the discussions there get talked about at writer’s conferences – although I haven’t witnessed this myself. Personally, I love to read posts about what people thought of the stories we run there, whether they liked them or didn’t like them. So again, criticism is generally not what I’m talking about.

What I am talking about is being an ass, and making yourself look stupid not just in front of the entire internet, but in front of your peers. You might suggest someone else’s published story would’ve been better if they’d written it the way you would have written it, and because they didn’t, their story sucks. You might not agree with some of the themes or the worldview of the story, so it sucks. Or maybe you notice an award-winning author has some similar elements in a story to one of your own. Accusing the other author of plagiary would make you look stupid, wouldn’t it? Especially if the story in question came out well in advance of your own. (Yes, I have actually seen someone do this.)

Look, you’re a writer. You know when you’re writing a story that every word counts – every word in your story is saying something. But as a writer, you need to remember that rule is not just related to when you’re writing stories, it’s related to everything you write in public. Every blog post, every forum comment. You’re writing them so other people can read them.

So think about what you’re writing. Is what you’re saying really what you want to be heard? Is what you want people to think of when they think of you? If so, go for it. If not, ask yourself, “Why?”

Because it’s Scalzi’s Law of Internet Invocation. If you’re talking about someone on the internet, especially if you’re talking about someone’s story, they’re probably going to hear about it. And they are your peers.

Like I said, Mur passed that simple advice on to me over three years ago. I haven’t always followed it, but I keep trying. And when I have typed something out, and thought before posting that maybe I’m not being excellent to my peers, and decided not to post it after all? I’ve never been disappointed with the outcome.

So be cool. Better yet, be excellent to each other. And remember that you should be writing, and when you are, make every word count.