I’ve been writing my entire life.
I’ve dedicated the past two decades
to aggressively learning
about writing.
I know sh*t all about
plotting a book
before writing it.
I’m a panster
(a writer who writes
by the seat of her pants,
who doesn’t have a plot
when she sits down
at the computer).
I know about plotting
because pantsers
have to ensure their plots
are solid.
But I can’t tell someone else
how to plot a story
before writing it.
And I admit it.
I tell people
“That’s not my area
of expertise.”
Newer writers are shocked
when I do that.
I’m a bestselling writer.
I should know everything about writing.
But they shouldn’t be shocked
because
NO ONE knows everything about something.
NO ONE.
And if you act like you do,
you’ll eventually look like
a jacka$$.
Ta-Nehisi Coates,
National Book Award Winner,
shares
“…one of the things
that annoys me is,
people act like they know everything….
Come on,
be clear about what you know
and what you don’t know.”
“I’m gonna talk about
what I don’t know.
And listen,
here’s the thing that happens.
You are well-researched
and knowledgeable
about one thing
that you’ve been thinking about
a long time
and you’ve been reading about
a long time.
That does not make you
well-researched and knowledgeable
about all things…
I get this title,
‘public intellectual,’
and I don’t like it,
because what it sounds to me is,
like,
people who B.S.
They’re smart about one thing,
and so they play into this notion
that they’re smart about everything else.…
If you want to ask me about writing,
I can [talk about it] up one side,
down the other. I got you.
I’m with you,
because I’ve struggled with that.”
You don’t know everything.
If you are asked for your opinion
on something you don’t know
anything about,
admit that you’re not the expert
in that field.
Then be quiet
and learn from the people
who ARE experts.