Dear Prudence,
I have a longtime friend who fancies herself a career writer. She has contributed a few freelance stories to local news organizations, mostly announcing local events not covered in the traditional news outlets. Before she submits her pieces, she sends them to me to edit. There’s no other way to describe them: They’re bad. Her pieces lack focus or purpose, she blatantly plagiarizes ideas, and her grammar and punctuation are at a junior-high level. I try to give constructive criticism, but she ignores me entirely. It’s clear that she has no intention of revising her work, and she’s just fishing for compliments.
Recently, she has started applying for journalism positions with major news organizations. She gets angry when she does not get called for an interview. I refuse to lie to her and tell her that her writing is excellent when it is subpar. What can I say when she wants me to tell her that her writing is good?