Art and Craft in Writing

What is the difference between Art and Craft in writing?

A guest post by Duane Bedell

That question was posed to me 30-some years ago by an English graduate student working her way through a technical writing course. My answer was the simple maxim I hold true today: Craft is knowing how to say something; Art is knowing what to say. 

The two are inextricably, perhaps inexplicably, entwined. It is my view that the expression of Art is dependent upon mastery of its Craft. In the case of writing, the Craft begins with language skill just as the Art of sculpture begins with the skill in a paving stone. There is no Craft and hence no Art in duct taping a banana to a wall.

Not all Craft transcends to Art, but undeniably all Craft has merit as a solid foundation for it. There can be both Art and merit in the Craft of paving stones just as the Art in a simple declarative sentence may be merely a signpost. Craftsmanship is not a pejorative any more than artisanship. In some sense, it is a spectrum. Artistic inspiration may impel Craft. 

My view on this stems from both my education and my occupations. I remember being asked when I declared my Writing major with an English minor: “What are you going to do with that?” As it turned out, writing skill was an integral and indispensable aspect in every occupation I pursued. In fairness, most of my professional writing would fall under the heading of technical, but every experience led to my improvement as a fiction writer. Like Hemingway, I think fiction tells a truth that facts alone cannot.

Also in fairness, it may be a chicken-egg situation. My fascination with words and language began under the tutelage of Miss Anna, the generational first grade teacher in my hometown. My predilection may have filtered my occupational endeavors. In another venue, that skill may have been irrelevant. It is perhaps another chick-egg scenario: Does the Craft improve the expression of Art or does the expression of Art improve the Craft? I think it is a debate for those seeking tenure.

Duane Bedell is a former college teacher, security analyst and the author of several collections of stories available on Amazon, including Nishnabotna County Stories.