“A Poor Craftsman Blames His Tools”

We know this proverb to basically mean that someone unskilled or incompetent at a task will often make excuses for their poor work by blaming their tools rather than taking responsibility for their own failings. Yikes. I heard this phrase listening to a podcast the other day, and it made me think about my own craftsmanship. I’ve always thought of myself as someone who makes do with what I have, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think my production could be much higher if I had a few more gadgets. Yet, I also think back to the times when I would write in class or at home after school. I didn’t have any gadgets at all then, just a pen and a notebook, and somehow that was enough.

I don’t know when it happened, but at some point, I felt like I needed a keyboard to write, a laptop specifically. It hindered my creativity; in fact, it hindered my productivity. For a while, I didn’t even have a laptop! All I had was my phone and an abundance of journals and pens. And yet, I wasn’t writing. I would make excuses, saying things like, “When I get a keyboard, I’ll write every day,” or “When I get a new laptop, I’ll start writing articles again.” But the truth is, that was just an excuse. There was nothing stopping me from writing with a pen, just like people have been doing for thousands of years.

So that brings me back to the saying: “A poor craftsman blames his tools,” right? Well, this may not fit in every sense of the saying, but I was blaming my tools. Not to say I was a poor craftsman or writer, or maybe I was. Maybe a good craftsman makes it work no matter the circumstance or level of utility. Perhaps that’s exactly what makes a good writer: the ability to write, create, and express with even the bare minimum, just a pen and a pad, the way we all started out writing anyway.

Fancy keyboards and laptops are just glitz and glam. What really matters is the end result and how those feelings, emotions, and voice are translated in the final product. I mean, it’s not like anybody would know your method of input anyway; the words are the focus. So that’s my advice to any writer: text it in your notes, type it in a word document, or scribe it in your journal. The method isn’t the important part. The important part is that you are writing and that you are recording that brilliance in any way, shape, or form. You can sort all the other mechanics out later. There are so many programs now available to transcribe even your handwritten notes. There really is no excuse now. It’s one of the best moments in time to be a writer, and it’s only getting better!