Writing Thoughts
Oct. 31st, 2019 03:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unspeakablehorrorMy fanfic is always extremely self-indulgent. I very much do hope it connects with other people, and I do hope I can learn valuable things from what other people say about it, but my concern is not how I can make it palatable to the widest audience. That always seems to mean conforming to conventional ideals, which I do not find at all appealing.
On the other hand, I am very interested in criticism of any aspect of my writing, not only because I think that can help me improve as a writer, but because I think it can help me improve as a person. In one sense, stories are just lies we make up about the world, but in another, they are deeply telling of how we see the world and our place in it. I think that's why it's so hard for people to face criticism about their stories, because it is, in a sense, criticism about themselves.
But for me, I think such things can be a vanishingly rare opportunity to understand a different perspective. While it's true that criticisms can be just as lacking in analysis as surface-level praise, the ones that aren't can be immensely valuable. And while I don't think I would ever agree with all criticisms about my work (since they could be contradicting of each other or considerably out of line with my own values), I have found most criticisms I've received thus far quite valuable.
I very much do also like praise, and find it greatly valuable, but whether my work is being praised or criticized I want that to come from a genuine place in the commenter and not because they feel I expect a certain kind of reaction. It's true that I do to some extent care how a message is delivered, but that's only important to me in deciding whether I'm willing to personally engage the critiquer, and I try not to put overmuch weight on that when considering whether the critique itself is valid. And it is possible to deliver essentially the same message in many different ways.
On the other hand, I am very interested in criticism of any aspect of my writing, not only because I think that can help me improve as a writer, but because I think it can help me improve as a person. In one sense, stories are just lies we make up about the world, but in another, they are deeply telling of how we see the world and our place in it. I think that's why it's so hard for people to face criticism about their stories, because it is, in a sense, criticism about themselves.
But for me, I think such things can be a vanishingly rare opportunity to understand a different perspective. While it's true that criticisms can be just as lacking in analysis as surface-level praise, the ones that aren't can be immensely valuable. And while I don't think I would ever agree with all criticisms about my work (since they could be contradicting of each other or considerably out of line with my own values), I have found most criticisms I've received thus far quite valuable.
I very much do also like praise, and find it greatly valuable, but whether my work is being praised or criticized I want that to come from a genuine place in the commenter and not because they feel I expect a certain kind of reaction. It's true that I do to some extent care how a message is delivered, but that's only important to me in deciding whether I'm willing to personally engage the critiquer, and I try not to put overmuch weight on that when considering whether the critique itself is valid. And it is possible to deliver essentially the same message in many different ways.