It's funny. Even though I totally agree with what prnstr23 says about Writers (yeah, the ones who capitalize it), I'm just thrilled to see myself being one of them again lately.

I've "Written" a lot this week. Maybe none of it was very good. But right now, I'm all about quantity over quality. And then I feel a little dirty. But I'm still proud of myself, because at least I'm trying. And then I feel even dirtier.

Aargh! Damn you, prnstr, for making me think! And damn you too, Truman Capote! You and your oh so clever little "That's not writing, that's typing" line that always lodges itself into my brain at times like this.

***

I think the main problem is that the people who shouldn't be writing aren't smart enough to figure it out. Conversely, the ones who do know enough to know that they don't know anything, promptly shut the hell up, and the general pool of people putting out quality material diminishes.

Hold on a minute. Something about that paragraph didn't feel right. It took me a long time to see exactly what it was, but I've got it now. There are no "people who shouldn't be writing." That is quite simply a qualitive decision that I am not allowed to make.

Everyone should be able to express themselves. It's our God-given right as Americans, or something. Who am I, to judge the quality of someone else's soul? After all, I know I suck.

There are, however, people whom I should not be reading, at least to preserve my own mental health. I'm a big fan of spelling. If your punctuation and sentence structure are worse than mine, I don't wanna deal with you. And of course, there are writing styles and subject matter that I would rather avoid, too.

But all that is personal preference. I don't want to be the Writing Nazi, denying a forum to everyone who doesn't happen to write what I wanna read.

Maybe prnstr is right, though, and these people shouldn't be allowed to call themselves "writers." Writers are powerful, magical beings who can evoke emotions in people they don't even know simply with the power of their mind, and their ability to transform this mind into a recognisable form.

But, if these "Writers" were going around calling themselves "zebras," would we be upset? We would be confused, maybe. But, I think in the end, we'd be tolerant. "Aw. She thinks she's a zebra. Isn't that cute?"

That's really all you can do with "writers" too. Let them have their delusions. They're not hurting anyone. They're not even forcing you to acknowledge them. Let them call themselves whatever they damn well please. In the end, "writer" is just another word.

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