The Best Writer You Say?

[cynicalshadows]

"Fill-in-the-Blank is the best writer in the Fill-in-the-Blank fandom."

This statement pisses me off. Seriously. It doesn't matter the author in question, or the fandom. Even on those few occasions when the comment was a compliment directed at me, I still get upset because I have a big problem with "best." See, "best" is a value judgement. It

Comments

[choco_dreamer]

hey bb, whoah it feels like this is a bigger issue than i first felt it to be. but having said that, i don't really understand why it has become an issue in the first place? i don't feel like anyone has been saying that someone is the best writer, but rather that they feel someone is a very good writer. he/she may not have mentioned other writers to be very good writers as well, but that doesn't mean he/she doesn't think them to be. and i feel like it's ok to say someone is a very good writer because,
1. it doesn't mean someone is clearly a 'winner' as you mentioned and
2. aren't almost all adjectives (like 'very good') subjective and therefore an opinion of the person saying it?
but maybe i'm just saying bullsh*t and non of this makes sense (i wouldn't be surprised, i hardly ever make sense ><), and maybe i've completely missed the point. but i do whole heartedly agree that all fanfic writers should be encouraged to write and their efforts should be appreciated. we only learn through our mistakes after all :)

[cynicalshadows]

Honestly, this wasn't in response to any one single post or person. Hell, it isn't even exclusive to one particular fandom because every fandom has their own "best" writers. It's just something that has been bothering me for a while and I felt needed to be addressed, and since people were debating things related to writing in the Gossip Girl fandom, I felt now would be a good time to put this out there.

But you are correct, saying someone is "good" is not the same as "best." "Good" is a subjective opinion that doesn't unconsciously imply anything about other writers, while "best" is a title that does because nothing can be better than the best. "Best" implies, consciously or not, that everything else is somehow less, and the only way that could be determined was if fanfiction was a competition, which it is not and shouldn't be.

[jacobella41]

agreed