"When you combine something to say with the skill to say it properly, then you've got a good writer"
About this Quote
Sturgeon’s line reads like a clean little formula, but it’s also a quiet jab at two familiar literary delusions: that passion alone equals art, and that technique alone equals meaning. “Something to say” is the moral and imaginative stake-the pressure behind the work, the worldview that makes a story more than plot mechanics. “The skill to say it properly” is the craft: control of voice, structure, rhythm, and restraint. Sturgeon makes the conjunction do the heavy lifting. Combine. Not alternate. Not prioritize one and treat the other as optional.
The subtext is almost professional-grade exasperation. He’s speaking from the mid-century pulp and science fiction ecosystem, where writers were often treated as content machines and “message” could easily curdle into sermon. Sturgeon, a genre insider who fought for literary respect, is drawing a boundary: sincerity without competence is noise; competence without purpose is decorative.
“Properly” is the slyest word here. It doesn’t mean primly. It means precisely: the right tone for the idea, the right container for the emotion, the right amount of explanation. Proper is what keeps “something to say” from turning into a lecture, and what keeps “skill” from becoming mere flourish.
The intent is pragmatic but also aspirational: good writing isn’t a mystical gift, it’s a two-part job. Sturgeon’s standard is bracing because it’s democratic and unforgiving at once-anyone can pursue both halves, and no one gets a pass for only having one.
The subtext is almost professional-grade exasperation. He’s speaking from the mid-century pulp and science fiction ecosystem, where writers were often treated as content machines and “message” could easily curdle into sermon. Sturgeon, a genre insider who fought for literary respect, is drawing a boundary: sincerity without competence is noise; competence without purpose is decorative.
“Properly” is the slyest word here. It doesn’t mean primly. It means precisely: the right tone for the idea, the right container for the emotion, the right amount of explanation. Proper is what keeps “something to say” from turning into a lecture, and what keeps “skill” from becoming mere flourish.
The intent is pragmatic but also aspirational: good writing isn’t a mystical gift, it’s a two-part job. Sturgeon’s standard is bracing because it’s democratic and unforgiving at once-anyone can pursue both halves, and no one gets a pass for only having one.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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