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Not subtweeting anything or anyone specifically, but I'd like to take a minute to explain a rule for appraisers that I think applies to writing, and also to a lot of other aspects of life and volunteer work and professionalism and so on.
It's called the competency rule.
It's called the competency rule.
So, an appraiser gets asked to do an assignment. The competency rule states that an appraiser must:
1. be competent to perform the assignment;
2. acquire the necessary competency to perform the assignment; or
3. decline or withdraw from the assignment.
Let me break this down.
1. be competent to perform the assignment;
2. acquire the necessary competency to perform the assignment; or
3. decline or withdraw from the assignment.
Let me break this down.
It means, to do a thing, you have to know how to do it competently. If you don't, you're required to disclose the lack of competency before accepting the job, and then you must ACQUIRE that competency somehow and, in a report, explicitly DESCRIBE how you acquired that competency.
If you can't commit to doing all of that, then you can't take the assignment. If you take it anyway and then don't acquire competency and explain how you did so, you can end up in big trouble. Fines, extra classes, and/or your license can be suspended or revoked. Bye bye job.
When you're writing, it's a good idea to use the competency rule for yourself and your subject matter. Do you know enough already to write the thing accurately? If not, are you going to do the work to learn enough to do so? If you're not, you probably shouldn't write it.
But what if you take steps to become competent and... you still end up not being competent? You did your best, therefore it's okay, right?
Bad news: you still broke the rule. Because the goal is not just to try to become competent, the goal is to actually do it.
Bad news: you still broke the rule. Because the goal is not just to try to become competent, the goal is to actually do it.
So you wanted to write about a thing, you tried to learn enough to do it well, but you still messed up. There's no writer license, so you're not going to lose your job. You can explain what you did to try to become competent, but that matters much less than owning your mistakes.
Saying, "Gosh, I tried so hard, don't be mad at me for not knowing stuff" is a sure way to make people more angry.
"I tried and other people told me it was fine" is also bad (competency isn't granted by a few people, and throwing them under the bus, even unintentionally, sucks).
"I tried and other people told me it was fine" is also bad (competency isn't granted by a few people, and throwing them under the bus, even unintentionally, sucks).
As I said, this can be applied to all sorts of things in life: work, hobbies, volunteering, parenting... consequence levels vary and sometimes you're only beholden to yourself, so assume this is mostly when other people will be involved. Especially when you could do harm.
So there you have it, friends. Competency. Expect it of yourself and others. Be excellent to each other, in all things.
Addendum: if you’re doing a thing for fun, for yourself, not to share widely or sell or whatever, then it’s up to you how much effort you put in. I’m not here to be judgey if your fanfic isn’t proofed or your cosplay isn’t perfectly hemmed or something. Have fun! Just do no harm.
