Critics & Criticism: A Writer's Perspective
May 18th 2007 23:51
They say that everybody's a critic, and to a certain extent this is very true. And if true for the average person, it is even more so for the writer. To a writer, criticism is a fact of life! Those who might not be able to do any better themselves simply love to pick apart every paragraph...every sentence...every phrase...every word written--as long as it's written by someone else!
But, what else should a writer expect? After all, we, as writers repeatedly make ourselves vulnerable to the whims and caprices, the opinions and judgments, the beliefs, perspectives, and presuppositions of every individual who reads our work! By boldly putting our thoughts, ideas, feelings, and opinions out there for all the world to see...to evaluate..to weigh against their own experiences, their own feelings, and their own individual knowledge--as well as the wider body of knowledge, pseudo-knowledge, experience, and pure conjecture that surrounds us--we attract and even at times invite criticism.
But this is OK! We can take it--and hopefully we can at the same time learn not to take it to heart! Whatever their intent, our critics can teach us a great deal--as much about ourselves as they can about our work! If nothing else, they can teach us something about grace under fire...about turning the other cheek...about persevering despite all odds...and about transforming temporary failure into ultimate success!
So, let's say Thanks to critics everywhere! If nothing else, they give us the determination to keep trying...to continually challenge ourselves...to steadily improve our skills. And, if all else fails, they at least give us one possibly unintended gift: publicity!
Here are a few enlightening quotes by famous writers on critics and criticism:
A man must serve his time at every trade save censure--critics all are ready made. ~Lord Byron~
A dramatic critic is a man who leaves no turn unstoned. ~George Bernard Shaw~
A good writer is not, per se, a good book critic. No more than a good drunk is automatically a good bartender. ~Jim Bishop~
Has anybody ever seen a drama critic in the daytime? Of course not. They come out after dark, up to no good. ~P.G. Wodehouse~
Those who write ill, and they who ne'er durst write,
Turn critics out of mere revenge and spite. ~John Dryden~
The good critic is he who narrates the adventures of his soul among masterpieces. ~Anatole France~
Nature fits all her children with something to do,
He who would write and can't write, can surely review. ~James Russell Lowell~
Critic, n. A person who boasts himself hard to please because nobody tries to please him. ~Ambrose Bierce~
Every good poet includes a critic, but the reverse will not hold. ~William Shenstone~
To literary critics a book is assumed to be guilty until it proves itself innocent. ~Nelson Algren~
A bad review by a man I admire hurts terribly. ~Anthony Burgess~
Time is the only critic without ambition. ~John Steinbeck~
I love criticism just so long as it's unqualified praise. ~Noel Coward~
Writing criticism is to writing fiction and poetry as hugging the shore is to sailing the open sea. ~John Updike~
The main use in criticism is in showing the manner of man the critic is. ~Frank Moore Colby~
And, finally, this gem:
I never read a book before reviewing it. It prejudices me so. ~Sydney Smith~
Hope these quotations, from some of the best writing minds that history has produced have made you smile or chuckle...consider or reflect. I always find it fascinating to read the differing viewpoints of a whole array of writers on a single specific topic--and the more intricately related to the writing craft, the better!
Till next time,
Jeanne
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