It´s A Writer´s Right To Decide

 I have already read about the September Challenge. It sounds worth taking into account when it comes to improve our writings skills. However, I have also read some opinions saying that it should be Triond doing the job of flagging or deleting all those articles that they consider of low quality, etc.  I don´t agree with such views.

First of all, it is a writer´s right to decide whether an article or story has to go or not. I would be very angry if someone did this without even telling me beforehand or, at least, giving me a chance to discuss it.

My sister is a qualified journalist with a huge educational and professional CV to her name. On one of those days when we talked about these matters, she told me something that I haven´t forgotten ever since. It is related to the change over from typewriters to computers. Obviously, she is in favour of the latter for the comfort that they grant us. However, computers pose a problem as she pointed out. When a journalist sat at his/her typewriter to write a full blown article,  he or she had to go to the editor´s desk to show him. After reading the article, the editor would probably tell the journalist whether there was a paragraph or part of the article that he didn´t like for one reason or another, and it had to go. In that situation, there was, of course, an opportunity for the journalist to discuss it and, perhaps, defend his/her article. This was lost when computers arrived. They are, of course, a lot more comfortable and easier to write on and they are even environmentally friendly as no paper is used as we all know.

 A journalist sits at her/his computer to write an article. Once written, it is sent to the editor´s computer. There is no need to go to him to show it to him. If he doesn´t want to talk with the writer, he won´t do so. He will read it and he will delete whatever parts he feels appropriate to delete. All that without a writer´s consent or agreement.

What we have gained in comfort, speed and cleanliness, we have lost it in freedom to write as far as working for a newspaper or magazine.

Using this anecdote that my sister told me once, I have to agree with some writers who accept on being themselves the ones to decide whether one of their articles have to be flagged or not. In fact, it is an opportunity that Triond grants us.  It´d be much worse if they did it without a writer´s agreement or without even telling the writer beforehand.

One can´t say that one has a great profile, because one has hundreds of articles and stories in it. But for the quality of it. If I have to be critical with my own work, I have to admit that not all of them are good. Some of them were written way too fast without much thought or research. Others were perhaps written trying to get as many of them published, viewed, commented and, therefore, to give me increased earnings. Others definitely make me feel proud of myself and I am glad that I once sat to write them.  

For all this, I truly appreciate they have given us an opportunity to decide for ourselves which ones should go and which ones should stay. It is, after all, a writer´s right to decide.