How many times have you heard it? Which is better, actor A or actor B, writer C or writer D? It seems anytime there is talk of one actor, author, director, playwright–whatever–someone asks the question.
Why do we have this need to compete with each other? Or in this case, the need to force a competitive attitude between followers? There is plenty of room for everyone.
Our family did an experiment one time. There is a particular song that we had on a CD that my husband loved. Because of the title, he thought there must be a story behind it, so he asked the three ladies of the family–me, and daughters Katherine and Dawn–all writers, to write our story of the composition.
And we did.
Were the stories interesting? Fascinating? Well written?
Yes!
Were they the same story?
No!
Were they all good stories?
Quite!
My story and Dawn’s stories followed a similar theme, but were quite different in style and conclusion. Katherine’s story took a completely different path- one that I would never have imagined.
Was it a good story! I loved it, partly because I could never have conceived it. Would I read it again? Certainly!
What did we learn from this? That not everyone sees the same story from the same inspiration, but that all the stories have merit. They were equal in quality while being different in most other ways.
There are thousands of authors, playwrights, directors, actors–you name it–out there and many of them are tremendously talented. So trying to say this one is better than that one is personal opinion. No two of them are going to be best in every area, but they can both be leaders in their field.
Give two different authors an idea for a book and have them write from that idea. The two books will be completely different, even if they both write the same genre. Once those books have been edited and rewrites finished, you’ll have two different books, both of which will be fantastic, but different.
Which will be better? That’s a matter of personal opinion. It’s can’t be quantified. I like both Ellis Peters and Dorothy Sayers. Which one is better? I couldn’t say. It depends on what I want to read at the time.
Let’s stop forcing competition where there is no need. The marketplace is hazardous enough without complicating matters. Wouldn’t it be better if we were to encourage each other to do our best?
The world deserves out best effort. Let’s give each other a hand!
