Three Reasons Not to Be a GOAT Writer

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth

I love watching TV sports shows. To me, many of the interesting things about sports aren’t the games but learning about the players. They are more than just numbers on shirts or jerseys. What they have to go through to reach their level of skill is inspiring. And humbling. To get where they are takes not only talent but a commitment that sometimes borders on obsession.

And each summer, like clockwork, when sports hit the annual slow period, the talking heads pull out their evergreen topics they like to argue. And one of the most popular arguments they like to rehash is: Who is the G.O.A.T? Who is the Greatest Of All Time?

Is it LeBron or Michael? Judge or Shohei? Brady or … whoever? There’s always someone they want to build up to be the best. Or tear down to make their argument.

As writers, we often fall into this trap of hoping to be the best. Especially the overachievers among us who never go halfway when taking on a task. It’s all or nothing, baby. We’re not stopping until we’ve climbed that mountain. And faster than anyone else. (Or anyone with good sense.) With a rucksack on our backs.

Go big or go home!

But, like sports, the goal of writing isn’t to find the best writer. We write to inform and/or entertain our reader. We create competitions to give out awards for the best, but that doesn’t mean the one they choose is better than the others. All the stories could be worthy; however, the judges have to choose the one they think best meets their guidelines. That’s why award-winning books and movies aren’t always the most popular.

Striving to be the best sounds like a worthy goal. But having the mindset that you have to be the best can create problems as you continue to write. 

Three problems created by wanting to be the best writer.

1. It establishes an impractical standard.

What does being the best writer even mean? Writing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Although we have a bazillion writing contests choosing the Best Novel, Best Short Story, Best First Line, or Best Haiku, they don’t claim to find the absolute best. Their goal is to choose their pick of the ones who entered, realizing that another set of judges could choose another ‘Best’.

Maybe the ‘Best’ you’re chasing is to have the most sales on Amazon, be in all the bookstores, be one of the thousands best sellers on Amazon. The problem, if one of these is your goal, is that you have no control over them. You can work yourself crazy trying to game the system, but in the end most of what needs to happen is out of your control.

2. It keeps you from appreciating other people’s achievements.

Jordan has won six NBA championships. LeBron has won only four. Jordan was an All-Star 11 times. LeBron 21.

Folks, both men were awesome players in their day. They made plays that made fans’ mouths drop. We hear tales about how their opponents felt going up against them. They both made their teams better. To pick one over the other definitively is impossible.

And what do you do with players like Steph Curry, who shoots the three-pointer from waaay outside and makes it swish. How do you compare him to Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, who played in a different era but dominated the game?

When I look at my favorite writers, they present the same problem. Like ice cream, you can’t choose just one. My favorites would include Max Lucado, Steve Berry, Charles Schulz, and Karen White. All of these are great writers in their own genres and in their own ways. But they are very different. And each of them gives value to their readers.

3. It keeps us from attempting new things.

If we always have to be the best, then we’ll be afraid to try something different. We’ll feel like you have to write in our genre instead of trying different stories and different lengths. We’ll fear we won’t be as good as we think we have to be.

And we won’t be. (Shocking, I know.) Everything has a learning curve. Sometimes, the only way we’ll learn is to take Robert Frost’s path until we realize oops, then turnaround and go back. We call it taking a blind alley. It might take you to the best blues bar in New Orleans, or it might just lead you to a smelly dumpster.

But the only way to know is to walk down the alley. (Not at night, though. That’s a Stephen King novel.)

It takes practice to get better. Even with silly things. Recently, I tried to throw an apple core into the field twenty feet behind our house. I wound up to throw the ball between the house and the cherry tree and … hit the birdfeeder, shattering the feeder. I picked the remaining apple up and threw it again. And hit an oak just in front of the fence. Now I’m looking for a little kid to practice tossing the ball with.

Writers get to enjoy all types of opportunities. I’ve spoken to people who wanted to write a book when they probably should start with an article. Writing is like learning a sport. The more you do it, the better you get. And by trying different ones you learn which ones you are best at. 

No matter what your favorite coach may say, best is not a standard. It’s not even a SMART goal. In writing, as in sports, there is no best. There could be a winner, but that doesn’t negate the efforts of the others. And often, it’s those efforts that are most important.

Instead of pushing yourself to be the best, try to DO your best. Doing your best doesn’t require you to compare yourself to others. It accepts that where you are now isn’t where you’ll be in the future. And it allows you to ‘fail’ so that you’ll get better.

There is a saying; A tide rises all ships. And so it is with many writers’ groups, whether they meet in person or online. Find a group of writers where you can learn and grow together. And maybe you all can become better versions of yourselves. 

What writing groups have you found helpful? Drop me a comment. Thanks for reading. 

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Three Reasons Not to Be a GOAT Writer from @TimSuddeth on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Tim Suddeth is a stay-at-home dad and butler for his wonderful, adult son with autism. He has written numerous blogs posts, short stories, and three novels waiting for publication. He is a frequent attendee at writers conferences, including the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and a member of Word Weavers and ACFW. He lives near Greenville, SC where he shares a house with a bossy Shorky and three too-curious Persians. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter, as well as at www.timingreenville.com and www.openingamystery.com.