Ben Riggs Interview on the Death of the Golden Age

[overgeeked]

But Riggs knew he was writing something controversial and if he's bothered by people responding to it in a way he doesn't like, well, my dude, you're a writer. You are in the professional written communication business. It is not on the reader to make sure their take is the one you want it to be.

I agree with everything you said up to this. Being a professional writer doesn’t immunize the person from sometimes writing poorly, flubbing words, coming across poorly, etc. And as for the writer dictating the reader’s take, there’s an old proverb about horses and water that comes to mind. Further, I’d suggest Riggs knew his post would be controversial…and that’s quite likely why he posted it. The whole thing reads like typical internet clickbait.

 

[Mannahnin]

I agree with everything you said up to this. Being a professional writer doesn’t immunize the person from sometimes writing poorly, flubbing words, coming across poorly, etc. And as for the writer dictating the reader’s take, there’s an old proverb about horses and water that comes to mind. Further, I’d suggest Riggs knew his post would be controversial…and that’s quite likely why he posted it. The whole thing reads like typical internet clickbait.

I don't think Whizbang was saying it immunizes someone, but if writing is my job, I should be expected to write well and clearly. And I should be willing and able to take responsibility for it when I don't. And if I choose to put out clickbait for its marketing value, I should accept the heat it draws as the price of doing business.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I agree with everything you said up to this. Being a professional writer doesn’t immunize the person from sometimes writing poorly, flubbing words, coming across poorly, etc. And as for the writer dictating the reader’s take, there’s an old proverb about horses and water that comes to mind. Further, I’d suggest Riggs knew his post would be controversial…and that’s quite likely why he posted it. The whole thing reads like typical internet clickbait.

I have to agree with @Mannahnin. What you write here sounds to me like you agree with what @Whizbang Dustyboots wrote in the quote, because to me you say very nearly the same thing.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I don't think Whizbang was saying it immunizes someone, but if writing is my job, I should be expected to write well and clearly. And I should be willing and able to take responsibility for it when I don't. And if I choose to put out clickbait for its marketing value, I should accept the heat it draws as the price of doing business.

Yep, all of this.

 

[dragoner]

There is a word for this, coined by Cory Doctorow.

 

[Shardstone]

Because they get attacked for it.

WotC isnt some little kid we need to worry about getting bullied.

 

[Lanefan]

I was going to make a joke about how I came from Donkey Kong to D&D, but I like your burgers analogy.

For me it was Asteroids; then Defender.

And a year earlier but perhaps a bit closer to genre, the text game Advent/Colossal Cave.

 

[el-remmen]

The Mazes & Monsters TV movie was my gateway to D&D - so maybe more histrionic anti-D&D scare tactic TV movies starring a future Hollywood movie star and that kid from Meatballs and My Bodyguard will do the trick in promoting the game?

(well, that and the catalog included in the DUNGEON! boardgame my uncle got me for XMas)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Somewhere, there's a diehard D&D fan who started playing because of Jack Chick.

 

[overgeeked]

I don't think Whizbang was saying it immunizes someone, but if writing is my job, I should be expected to write well and clearly.

As someone who's been paid to edit manuscripts prior to publication, this is simply not a reasonable expectation. Writers are human. They make mistakes like everyone else. I literally got paid to fix professional writers' mistakes with words. Writers aren't magic. They're people. They have good days and bad. Get rushed. Need to drop the kids off at the pool mid conversation. Just like everyone else.

It would really benefit people to peek behind the traditional publishing curtain just a bit. The process of writing, editing, and publishing a book isn't some quick magical process. Riggs maybe comes across as smart and well-spoken in his book(s), but that's the result of years of research, writing, rewriting, editing, more rewriting, more research, etc all done by more than just Riggs himself. One traditionally published book is the result of hundreds of hours of work by dozens of people.

To expect every communication a writer makes to have that level of forethought and work put in is rather silly.

To be clear, I'm in no way defending Riggs here. I'm pointing out that writers are humans who are not perfect word machines. Expecting them to be is ridiculous. That's it.

And I should be willing and able to take responsibility for it when I don't.

Communication is not a one-way street. It doesn't matter how I say what I want to communicate to you if you have no interest in listening. It's not all on the writer to convey their meaning. It doesn't matter how clearly they communicate, someone will inevitably not understand. This is also why we have writing specifically for various age and education levels. Some audiences have more or less understanding, more or less vocabulary, etc.

And if I choose to put out clickbait for its marketing value, I should accept the heat it draws as the price of doing business.

Absolutely true. As I said in my post, Riggs' article reads like clickbait. It should be treated as such.