Critics who never write stories of their own, any thoughts on them ?
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oggbashan
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I write stories but I don't practise as a critic.
Being a good critic is a creative art which requires knowledge and expertise. Some critics are also authors; some authors are also critics. But they don't have to be both.
George Bernard Shaw was a great music critic but he didn't write music.
Being a good critic is a creative art which requires knowledge and expertise. Some critics are also authors; some authors are also critics. But they don't have to be both.
George Bernard Shaw was a great music critic but he didn't write music.
Hypoxia
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I recall a then-prominent alt.journo (underground press) rock music critic in early-1970's Los Angeles who started a band. Wow, they sucked. I recall an image labeled ART CRITIC of a dog urinating on a painting. Much literary, music, and art criticism is about at that level. It's valid, too.
SamScribble
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I recently got into an RL conversation on this topic with an editor friend. Her view was that every reader is, in effect, a critic. They react to what the author has written. They accept; they challenge; and - in some cases - they simply walk away. And, in this internet age, they are ever more likely to post their reaction on line as though it was the only reaction that mattered. (A bit like amateur restaurant reviewers.)
But the difference between an opinionated reader and a working critic (in the opinion of my editor friend) is that the working critic has to have the skills to communicate not just her opinion but why her opinion should be carefully considered.
But the difference between an opinionated reader and a working critic (in the opinion of my editor friend) is that the working critic has to have the skills to communicate not just her opinion but why her opinion should be carefully considered.
People who don't write their own can criticize. What makes some morons is that they think you're actually the person in the story and make some juvenile comment. And that's an email reply not just posting under a story. They have to go through the process of replying and don't see the profile that says , male, and they tell the woman character off. That's going through a lot of extra effort to show how big if a fool one is.
AZMotherLover
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The way I see it is you've got to take the good with the bad. For every "you suck!", I get ten "great!, please write more!".
The "you suck!" comments roll off my back because they never come from another author.
The "you suck!" comments roll off my back because they never come from another author.
Samuelx
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If you extrapolate the logic of the situation, you could say that you can't ever criticize something unless you do it yourself. And that's just silly. Everyone knows the difference between a burnt steak and a well-cooked steak. Just because you aren't a chef doesn't mean you can't say: "Hey, this thing is charred black and tastes like it's been under a heat lamp for three hours. I want my money back!"
Good critics are able to effectively communicate their points. Being an author may add perspective which can help in that challenge, but one doesn't have to be a professional author to communicate effectively.
Good critics are able to effectively communicate their points. Being an author may add perspective which can help in that challenge, but one doesn't have to be a professional author to communicate effectively.
BuckyDuckman
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I have more respect for someone who took the time to register a name than I do for the anonymous flamer. While someone is still hiding behind the veil of the internet, at least they put a name to it. Whether they're a writer or not doesn't matter to me.
lovecraft68
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I look at with a sports analogy.
I can't throw a football forty yards and hit a receiver between the numbers, nor could I sprint down the field in 4 seconds and run under a thrown ball
But it doesn't stop me or millions of other people telling that QB or receiver they suck.
I can't throw a football forty yards and hit a receiver between the numbers, nor could I sprint down the field in 4 seconds and run under a thrown ball
But it doesn't stop me or millions of other people telling that QB or receiver they suck.
J
JAMESBJOHNSON
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Makes me think of OSCAR WILDE'S THE CRITIC AS ARTIST. It's easy to criticize someone else's art, and much harder to create art of your own when you lack the talent.
Naaah. If you really know how to do something, you know how the results should be. The trick is doing what you do best. I fry perfect fuggin eggs. If there was a Nobel Prize for good lookin eggs I'd win it. And I can look at the shit others fry and laugh at them.
Laurel
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QuidProQuo77
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I'm with you.
I like to praise what I feel is good work; bad work I don't comment on. If I don't like what I'm reading I don't bother to finish it, I just move on.
I like to praise what I feel is good work; bad work I don't comment on. If I don't like what I'm reading I don't bother to finish it, I just move on.
QuidProQuo77
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History Of The World Part 1
Great scene of the world's first art critic - he pisses on a cave painting.
Mel Brooks is a genius!
Great scene of the world's first art critic - he pisses on a cave painting.
Mel Brooks is a genius!
J
JAMESBJOHNSON
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Most critics of the wealthy are poor people. So fuck them, right?
Nathan_Brazil
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You have to ask yourself: am I writing for readers, or writers? There's a lot more of one than the other.
Hypoxia
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Ah yes, who do I write for?
* Myself
* You Writers
* Them Readers
* Invisible Friend(s)
* Machines (software)
* The Universe At Large
* Nobody In Fucking Particular
* Some Particular Special Target
* Cats
Gaging the desired audience can be complicated. So just write.
Samuelx
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ishtat
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My experience of English schooling was quite different Og. Did 'O' levels in fourth form skipped 5th and did Additional Maths, Pure Maths, Applied Maths and Physics for 'A' levels. Thus I missed all that analytical stuff in English, just read the books if I wanted to.
Unlike you I do sometimes offer criticism, but these days except for the poetry board tend to do so by pm. The poets seem to be more receptive to critical comment. But I very rarely score a story, mainly because I genuinely think a lot of stories should only get a 1 or 2.
oggbashan
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My experience of English schooling was quite different Og. Did 'O' levels in fourth form skipped 5th and did Additional Maths, Pure Maths, Applied Maths and Physics for 'A' levels. Thus I missed all that analytical stuff in English, just read the books if I wanted to.
Unlike you I do sometimes offer criticism, but these days except for the poetry board tend to do so by pm. The poets seem to be more receptive to critical comment. But I very rarely score a story, mainly because I genuinely think a lot of stories should only get a 1 or 2.
I studied and took O Level English Literature in England, A Levels in Australia and England, and preparation for Post Graduate examination which included English Literature. The syllabus for the last had been set in 1870! My Australian examinations, although equivalent to O and A levels, were actually Leaving Certificate and Matriculation - examinations last common in the UK in the 1930s.
Samuelx
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The curriculum in North America is more up to date and lively, though I think the U.K. and France are ahead of the U.S. and Canada in terms of classical education.
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