How do you judge whether someone is a good writer?

China
May 30, 2010 4:02am CST
Hi, friends. Everyday we write our thoughts and ideas down to share with others. When it comes to writing, we need to develop writing techniques to make our ideas mores persuasive. Some people are really good writers. They have a rather acute sense of their surroundings and are good at observing what's happening around them. It is often said that a writer's inspiration mostly comes from daily life occurrences. So my question is how do you judge whether someone is a good writer? Is it by their decent English including choice of dictions and syntax or by their coherent organization of ideas? Personally, I've never ventured to think that I'm a good writer. Or rather, I'm far from a good writer. That's why I always spend much time reading others' posts, especially those excellent ones and reflect on their way of expressing themselves, and I do have my way of judging whether a person is a good writer, which I'll leave to share in commenting back. How about you? How do you judge whether a person is a good writer? I'm looking forward to your responses.
1 person likes this
19 responses
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
30 May 10
I like writers who use a lot humour and self-irony, and I like writers who "play" with the words. I am reading a novel at the moment. I like the story, but I don't like the way it is written. The author uses very few full stops and few spaces, it is like one long paragraph. It hard to read it and I miss a place where my eyes can rest. In my opinion it is not enough to write a good story, it is also important that it is reader friendly. I love reading stories or posts that are well-written, but it is even more important that the topic catches my attention.
• Philippines
30 May 10
I agree with you. Anything written with a taste of humor is quite relaxing. It's one way to ease the mind and turns around a stressful day. If I read a story book that hooked me on the first time, I will most likely go for another book written by the same author. I look for authors or writers who writes with their readers in mind that even how compelling these books are, they are reader friendly.
@joram328 (503)
• Philippines
31 May 10
hi porscopino, bluebellangel, i would hightly recommend "A long way gone" by ishmael beah. It is a good book, although it does not have the humour element that you like. Another good read is "the road" by cormac mccarthy. Happy reading!
• Philippines
4 Jun 10
Hi Joram, Thanks, I'll check those out. Got to get my hands with something worthwhile reading. It's been a while since I got to read a good one.
@allknowing (137101)
• India
30 May 10
A good writer is the one who writes to the point without there being ambiguity, paying attention to grammar and spelling. Quality rather than quantity would be my choice.
• China
1 Jun 10
We share the same view on this. In my eyes, a good writer should be able to make himself/herself clearly understood without causing any ambiguities, which also reflects his/her writing technique. I read some books which I prefer to say that they're badly-written. I found it hard to figure out any sense out of them and was usually in a confusion after I finished reading them. Some people believe that complication equals to good quality, but I never think so. A good article needs to be understood to realize its value.
• China
3 Jun 10
I heard something about that. Some said that the more you write, the higher you would be rated. I have no idea of the truth of this claim, but I never post for the sake of getting a higher rate or something. The ultimate purpose of my post is to let others know my thoughts and ideas no matter in what way they are expressed.
@allknowing (137101)
• India
1 Jun 10
But here in myLot the more the words the better you are rated. I simply cannot do that. My responses will always be to the point.
@coffeechat (1961)
• New Zealand
30 May 10
A good writer - in the first instance is someone who feels satisfied that s/he has communicated well. And of course there is the reader. It is important that the reader is touched, inspired and moved by the writing. Choice of language, good grammar, formatting and spirit help bring the reader and writer to the same page (pardon the pun). As the poet said "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" so is good writing. Thank you for raising a topic that inspires introspection.
• India
30 May 10
The vocabulary of a good writer should be vast. He should not beat around the bush to explain something, which could be defined otherwise.
• China
30 May 10
To coffechat: You put forward a good point. A good writer should be able to touch and inspire his readers because the purpose of writing is to serve readers. To some extent, whether a person should be regarded as a good writer is for readers to determine. This is especially true when it comes to literary masterpieces. Charles Dickens is highly praised as one of the most influential British writers by readers worldwide. It is the same case with common writers. A writer who knows the importance of taking readers' needs into account is a good one. To srirambond: Indeed vocabulary is a criterion for judging a writer. Limited vocabulary often leads to poor quality of articles that fail to engage readers' interest.
@vannice95 (121)
• Philippines
30 May 10
I'd judge a writer by both their decent English and by their coherent organization of ideas. Because if there's no decent English and proper grammar, the written output would make no good sense and would not properly be understood. And on the other hand, if there's no coherent organization of ideas, well, ideas of the written output would be jumbled and, again, it would not be properly understood. A good writer also is well inspired from his or her surroundings, and is good at observing what's happening around him or her, like what you said. He or she also expresses and organizes his or her ideas well, with good choices of words and diction. He or she writes things that really appeal to the reader, and that the reader would also surely think that he or she is a good writer.
• China
1 Jun 10
Hi, friends. Thanks for both of your response. When I said "decent English", I referred to someone who could write good English without any grammtical errors, as a well-educated native English speaker does. My way of judging a writer first starts from his/her language, including grammar, syntax, coherence and diction, which I think are the fundamental elements in determining the quality of person's writing. To get further, a good writer should have a great insight into the world around him/her and develop his/her own thoughts and understandings based on daily occurrences. Besides this, his/her organiztaion of ideas and writing techniques also count.
@joram328 (503)
• Philippines
31 May 10
hi! i'm just wondering, what is "decent english"? how would you differentiate that from "indecent english"? just a knee-jerk reaction here...
• Spain
1 Jun 10
Here in MYLOT, those who keep on writing simple and short are the good ones for me. Since I am still in the process of learning and recording new words with their meanings I prefer that type. I admire those people whose english is not their mother tongue but they knew billions of vocabularies and they know how to use it. of course, they are my favorites. Those who often writes and answers with a lot of inspirational quotes attracts me. And those who often writes and answers with the use of idiomatic expressions stimulates my mind and find exactly what does it brings.
• China
6 Jun 10
Hi, friend. Thanks for responding. I remember when I was a postgraduate, my supervisor told me that the best writing didn't mean the employment of many complicated and elegant words, but rather accurate expression with simple and commonly-used words. I agree with that. Just take a look at many world famous literary masterpieces, such as Pride and Prejudice, we can understand the power and attraction of common words. Some people like writing in complicated words, which usually makes it difficult to understand. Idioms are what I'm trying my best to learn all the time as they are the essence of a language.
@mokkka (881)
• Bulgaria
6 Jun 10
Nobody can be classified as a good or bad writer because we all like different things.I am sure that no matter how one is liked and read there will always be somebody who to say that this person is not a good writer.I personally like different things and as long as the story moves me I like and its author.
• China
6 Jun 10
That's right. There's no accounting for taste. What I like may not suit your taste. It's quite a natural phenomenon that a writer can't expect the same response from all readers. Despite this, I think there are some basic criteria in evaluating a good writer, such as grammar, coherence, writing technique which are the fundamental elements that a good writer should achieve.
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
30 May 10
I don't judge. I wouldn't know how. I know what type of writing I enjoy and it may not be good but that is not up to me to decide and it doesn't mean that I should not read it. I enjoy reading something that comes across in a fun manner and keeps me engrossed in what I am reading, even causing emotions. Many times I have smiled, laughed and even shed a tear when I am reading something here. It might be a long or a short post and it might be in 'perfect' or imperfect English, that doesn't seem to make much difference. As long as it entices me into continuing to read then I will do so - and even come back for more when I see that particular author again!
• China
1 Jun 10
I know what you mean. Actually we all have our share of that unique preference. We don't make up our mind about a writer simply by his/her noble or poor language. There's something more we care about, and that's what fascinates us. It all depends on different persons. For me, I prefer to read something well-written.
@p_vadla (1685)
• India
30 May 10
If I am able to read posts with ease,smoothly without any hiccups,just like a flow of river and at end of it feel light hearted and relieved, then I consider the writer of the post a good one.Whatever may be size of the post, it should look like over in a flash as if he talked in front of us eloquently.We should not get reminded of it again when we go to the next post.
• China
30 May 10
I really admire those who can write smoothly just like the flow of a river. It's kind of an enjoy to read articles like that.
@syankee525 (6261)
• United States
30 May 10
i think you have to be able to grab other attention or have them feel what you are feeling when you write. with me i love to write. and i write songs and when i write something and someone tell me wow that made me feel sad or i can relate to that. like i wrote a song called "the hands that loves her" its a song about an abuse woman and what she feels from a her point of view. when i let my females friends hear it and they are like that is just how i felt and they cant belive that a man wrote it from their point of veiw. or my other song called " mr music man" which i wrote about my mom after she had passed away and i was listening to the radio one night and a song came on and it made me cried. and i have guys freinds who are the toughest guys you will ever meet, but they tell me the song makes them cry everytime they hear because that how they feel after loosing thier mom or how they would feel.
• China
1 Jun 10
That's also one quality of a good writer. He/She should be able to express certain thoughts through writing which strike a responsive chord in readers. Thus, readers come to think, feel and sympathize with the author, which is what a writer should make effort to achieve.
@annierose (21582)
• Philippines
30 May 10
As for me, I can say that a person is a good writer if he catches my attention on his works. He makes me mesmerized on his works to the extent of wanting to finish his whole work with just one sitting.I love to read a certain work if it talks of something which is true, clear and worthwhile to read. Works that clearly shows prejudices is disgusting on me. I also love it when the author uses words which are not so complicated. It is a good thing if the author knows how to touch his reader's heart on what he writes. Having a wide range of vocabulary words of the author helps the reader to imagine what is he trying to say.
• China
1 Jun 10
I agree with you. I love reading, especially literary masterpieces. So far, I've read many which fascinated me a lot the first moment I read it. As I'm reading great works, I feel a strong desire to know what the author will write about in chapters ahead. Whether my assumptions will be met or not, I'm longing to know the result. Except the plot, I'm also critical of a writer's writing technique. Some great minds are rather skillful in displaying their unique writing style, such as humor, satire or exaggeration which makes their works full of power.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
30 May 10
I think that grammer is very important but writing is like any other art..it is appreciated on different levels by different people. So what is good for me may not be so to someone else. I think that being able to create emotion and environment with words makes a good writer. I also think that attention to detail can make a story either wonderful or dull depending on the creativity of description.
• China
1 Jun 10
That's right. We all have different taste for a good writer and we assess a writer from different perspectives ranging from grammar to writing techniques to the ability of arousing strong feelings in readers. From what I've read so far, most responders agree on the point that a good writer should be able to touch readers' spiritual feelings by his/her vivid language.
@bodhisatya (2384)
• India
31 May 10
Hi Chenxiayue, This is an interesting question here. Well, for me a good writer is someone who can make you relate to his writings. There are people who use unusual vocabulary and go on narrating a particular event but at the end of it I feel like i have been robbed off my time that I devoured in reading his work. For example you may try to read the Red Fox by Anthony Hyde. Gosh! No sense at all. Then there are some writers who may have written something 200 years back but still the description of human characters are so apt that you can relate them with your everyday acquaintances. If you have read Bleak House then almost every character could be compared with someone you know. There are some Indian writers whom I have read. The way they have set simple plain experiences of everyday life in equally simple meaningful words is truly amazing. Reading R.K.Narayan is an experience in itself. So a good writer is someone to me who can make me laugh, feel sorry for some character he portrayed,make me cry bitterly, even perhaps a short story writer who has the audacity to keep you guessing and making you to want more like Katherine Mansfield.
@jules67 (2788)
• Philippines
31 May 10
Personally, I think that having a good command of English is not the only ingredient of being a good writer. It has to have a good theme, and how the words are grouped properly in paragraph. There should be continuity. Most especially, a good writer has to convey its message to its reader clearly.
@reetu3 (262)
• India
30 May 10
i think a good writer is that who can explain himself can present his views clearly that other can understand it only by reading
• China
30 May 10
I agree with you on this point. Good writers clearly know how to make themselves understood. Writers who prefer to write in complicated words and sentences cana never be more popular than those who write in Thanks for responding!
• India
30 May 10
based on the coverage of subject and the detaisl of the topic explained we can judge the writer
@joram328 (503)
• Philippines
31 May 10
A good writer is one who develops his/her ideas well. A good writer communicates in a manner that flows easily, with the necessary clarity and coherence required to make a good piece. It takes practice, dedication and much passion to become a good writer because expressing oneself is not a task that can be undertaken by just about anyone. It's like opening oneself out to others; it is also a reflection of one's thoughts and opinions on certain things, delivered in such a way where the reader can absorb the topic, and relate to what is being written about.
@climber7565 (2579)
• United States
30 May 10
Hello friend!! hope this finds you well. I like your post and find it inspiring to encourage and self motivate myself to do good and contribute with quality. Fist of all I am not going to pretend that I am an authority at writing, on the contrary I am way far from being one. In response to your question, I think all skills must be considered together, coherence, mechanics, factual content, technique. A write, must be aware of his/ her audience and purpose for the writing piece. There has to be an object and goal it seeks to reach. A good writer applies all mentioned and ultimately moves the masses and gains the results and beyond through writing.
@qianyun6 (2067)
• China
31 May 10
I take it easy. For a literature write, My judgement only base on whether his/her compositions fit my taste. I don't care how famous he/she is, what awards he have got, even Nobel Prize. What do these do with me? According your arctile, maybe you like to know how we judge an article, what is important among word chosen, story plot... I think all of them must be not too bad, and one or more perform excellent, that will be a good composition.
• Philippines
31 May 10
In my opinion, it is not by the amount of 'big' and 'long' words that she knows, not the length of what he writes, or the amount of technicalities that she knows. I believe that being a good writer is simply having a connection with the readers -- if people like it, you are one.