I am NOT 3rd Person Perfect
Writing rocks. I had something published, but it was a long, long time ago. Regardless, I am not a studied craftsman. But I love to write. I really love it. In fact, I write 8 hours a day. It's my art, my passion, my reason for living. Well, maybe that's a bit much.
So...for some reason, there are jealous writers who come at me with claws and fangs. Why? I have no idea. There's room for all of us. Wouldn't the world (and the bookstore) be a dreary, hopeless place if there were only one writer? Who would you pick? One thing I would never do, not even to a writer I detest, is to slam their work to their face. Why? I know that despite our differences and the shortcomings of their work, it will affect them negatively. It does all of us.
One of the things that absolutely drives me nuts is when writers show off by deliberately flaunting their academia. Rather than pretend to know what they are talking about, I simply repeat what I said above, I'm not a studied craftsman. I guess I'm the writing world's equivalent of a high school dropout, a pariah in some circles. Oh well, fuck 'em. I'm too old to bend over backwards, trying to make people like me.
I know one such writer who commits both sins I mentioned above. Why? Insecurity I suppose. Pummel me with terms I don't understand when I already told you I have absolutely no fucking clue what you're talking about? I'm not impressed. Especially when your writing is as dull as a tampon. Are tampons dull? Shall I digress...even though your writing is dull, dull, dull and after years of studying your craft this is the best you can do...I'm not going to insult you. I will give you the best, constructive criticism I can, because I know that by insulting your work, you'll learn nothing. And because I'd like you to treat me the same way.
I used to have a boyfriend who was an ex-Marine. He was also a well-educated "intellectual." I know, seems like an oxymoron. English was his second language, but aside from sounding like Ricky Ricardo, it never hindered him. But here was where it fell off the cliff; he love, love, LOVED to steer the conversation to an obscure corner of outer bum-fuck Indian culture, wowing others with knowledge of dialect only a few hundred people on the face of the earth are able to speak. My point? When I'm belittled for my lack of higher education, it feels exactly like that. Give me that and I'll not mention the fact that despite years of education, your writing stinks. Do I have a lot to learn? Of course! And I welcome positive feedback.
Positive feedback, when on the nose, rings true with an ah-ha! Abusive feedback wounds. The inner child artist knows the difference. And that's what I am. I'm an artist. Why would I call people out in such a -ahem- general way? Well, for obvious reasons, and to remind them that:
a) You have nothing to gain from jealousy. There's enough room for all of us.
b) Golden rule, baby, ,golden rule.
c) Unless it's going to help the other writer in some way, keep it to yourself.
When faced with a first draft, telling the writer, "this won't sell," or "you'll never keep a reader's attention with this," or "this will never go over in your target audience," are merely abuse. Please don't abuse your fellow writers.
So...for some reason, there are jealous writers who come at me with claws and fangs. Why? I have no idea. There's room for all of us. Wouldn't the world (and the bookstore) be a dreary, hopeless place if there were only one writer? Who would you pick? One thing I would never do, not even to a writer I detest, is to slam their work to their face. Why? I know that despite our differences and the shortcomings of their work, it will affect them negatively. It does all of us.
One of the things that absolutely drives me nuts is when writers show off by deliberately flaunting their academia. Rather than pretend to know what they are talking about, I simply repeat what I said above, I'm not a studied craftsman. I guess I'm the writing world's equivalent of a high school dropout, a pariah in some circles. Oh well, fuck 'em. I'm too old to bend over backwards, trying to make people like me.
I know one such writer who commits both sins I mentioned above. Why? Insecurity I suppose. Pummel me with terms I don't understand when I already told you I have absolutely no fucking clue what you're talking about? I'm not impressed. Especially when your writing is as dull as a tampon. Are tampons dull? Shall I digress...even though your writing is dull, dull, dull and after years of studying your craft this is the best you can do...I'm not going to insult you. I will give you the best, constructive criticism I can, because I know that by insulting your work, you'll learn nothing. And because I'd like you to treat me the same way.
I used to have a boyfriend who was an ex-Marine. He was also a well-educated "intellectual." I know, seems like an oxymoron. English was his second language, but aside from sounding like Ricky Ricardo, it never hindered him. But here was where it fell off the cliff; he love, love, LOVED to steer the conversation to an obscure corner of outer bum-fuck Indian culture, wowing others with knowledge of dialect only a few hundred people on the face of the earth are able to speak. My point? When I'm belittled for my lack of higher education, it feels exactly like that. Give me that and I'll not mention the fact that despite years of education, your writing stinks. Do I have a lot to learn? Of course! And I welcome positive feedback.
Positive feedback, when on the nose, rings true with an ah-ha! Abusive feedback wounds. The inner child artist knows the difference. And that's what I am. I'm an artist. Why would I call people out in such a -ahem- general way? Well, for obvious reasons, and to remind them that:
a) You have nothing to gain from jealousy. There's enough room for all of us.
b) Golden rule, baby, ,golden rule.
c) Unless it's going to help the other writer in some way, keep it to yourself.
When faced with a first draft, telling the writer, "this won't sell," or "you'll never keep a reader's attention with this," or "this will never go over in your target audience," are merely abuse. Please don't abuse your fellow writers.
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