how do you share your talent without seeming pompous?

Micah Cohen · 10-13-2004, 08:59 AM

Say you do something well; it's your job. You fix engines, organize closets, write well-crafted sentences. Say you see someone doing what you do, and doing it well enough, but not as well as you could do it. You don't want to make any judgments, you don't want to insult that person, but you have an overwhelming urge to help them do what they are doing (which is what you happen to do well). You want to goose them on to the next level of what they are doing by injecting some of the stuff you know how to do. How do you do this without being presumptuous or insulting? I have never mastered this.

Here's why I ask. I'm a writer and editor by trade. It's sometimes not an easy thing to be, since practically everyone believes they, too, are writers. Look at all of us here, writing away! Anyway, I rely on Tim Dirks' "Greatest Films" website, filmsite.org. As HTFers, you're probably familiar with it. It has amazingly detailed and contextual reviews of the greatest films ever made. Tim has been doing this for years, and he does it really well; this is some of the best film writing online. I was reading through it yesterday, thinking about some of the movies I might watch for Halloween, and I was reading his write-up on the eponymous HALLOWEEN. I felt that it was missing some of the verve of some of his other write-ups, and I desperately wanted to goose it along. I even rewrote some bits of it for myself just to see if I was kidding myself or not.

Tim writes:

"...When Dr. Loomis walks over to look down from the balcony, the camera peers down to view the corpse. Even after being stabbed three times by Laurie (with domestic tools: knitting needle, coat-hanger, and kitchen knife), lethally shot six times, and suffering a second-story fall, the super-human body has vanished into the dark night...."

An amazing pivotal moment in the film, in effect the setup for the chilling feeling with which the film leaves you. But I think it goes more like this:

....Loomis looks down from the balcony and sees Michael Myers' body twisted on the ground two stories below. He leans back and looks around the room. Michael has been stabbed three times by Laurie (with the most domestic of tools: knitting needle, coat hanger and kitchen knife), shot six times by Loomis, and suffered a second-story fall. But when Loomis looks over the balcony ledge one last time, Michael Myers' body has vanished into the dark night....

I have been working on an email to Tim for days now, trying to get the tone of it just right. I am not happy with my attempts. How do I suggest to someone who's been doing something for years and is good at it, that I can help him add some polish here and there that would make what he does even better without sounding insulting or pompous?

Any advice?

MC

Micah Cohen · 10-13-2004, 09:01 AM

Does anyone else see that link that appeared when I wrote the word "camera"? What the heck is that? I didn't put a link there.

Admin? Can you delete that link?

Sorry for the strangeness.

MC

Holadem · 10-13-2004, 09:32 AM

Hehe, I was wondering about the link too.

As for deleting it, bandwidth ain't free.

--
H

Patrick Sun · 10-13-2004, 09:44 AM

An explanation of the textual pop-ups

Micah Cohen · 10-13-2004, 10:13 AM

Thanks Patrick! I never even noticed it; I guess I'm not mousing over many posts! That's pretty ingenius, if I say so myself. I hate it and think it's terribly intrusive, but it's pretty ingenious. Oh well, I'll deal. Doesn't detract from my original topic, anyway.

Hopefully I'll get some good advice from you folks.

I wonder if Tim reads this forum?

MC

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Cameron Yee · 10-13-2004, 10:55 AM

Because you are a stranger to Dirks, I don't know if there's a good way of offering your suggestions/advice. You may share the same profession, but you don't really know each other. If you met or exchanged emails for a length of time and established some kind of relationship first, I think it would go over better. Sending an email cold like that, no matter how well intentioned or well written, would rub most people the wrong way, on some level. If you choose not to establish some rapport with him first, I would just trust he already has colleagues he relies on for advice and let it be.

Micah Cohen · 10-13-2004, 11:02 AM

You're probably right.

Maybe I'm just being a busybody.

Huh.

MC

Michael Martin · 10-13-2004, 11:16 AM

Michah:

I am also a professional writer/editor, and can understand your desire to help out. Generally, though, this is a bad idea.

First, as you pointed out, a lot of people consider themselves good writers (or at least can't accept constructive criticism of their writing) despite being barely able to consistently conjugate irregular verbs.

Second, if someone does write for a living (or a hobby, as online), unless you have an established, strong relationship with them, your "suggestions" can easily be received as more 'Net nitpicking.

I'd let it go.

Jason_Els · 10-13-2004, 01:53 PM

In a more sensible world doing such a thing might be seen as a service. As it is, however, correcting the grammar of other people outside of a professional or parental role is considered very rude. I wouldn't even do it with friends unless explicitly asked.