madrobins. Hit Me With Sticks. I Can Take It (Reply)

janni and

coffeeem have both posted statements about bloggers and criticism of their work. The burden of both is roughly: no one owes me a good review. To which I say, well, yeah.

I would love it for everyone to love my work. I would love for everyone to love my kids, too, but not everyone is going to do so. I'd be a little distressed if bloggers decided to trash my children--but then, I didn't have kids for anyone else's entertainment. I do write to entertain (and to communicate and to share...). If someone doesn't care for something I've written--they should be able to say so, in print or in a blog. My writing is fair game; I put it out there, and it stands to reason that some people are not going to be entertained; that some people aren't going to get what I'm saying, and some won't want the things I mean to share.

Now, frankly, I don't go looking for reviews, good or bad; I trip over 'em occasionally, but I don't seek them out. And when I read an unfavorable review, or a review that doesn't get what I was doing or missed something I thought was pellucidly clear, my first, absolutely knee-jerk reaction is: What a dope. Because I'm, like, human and stuff. And then I think a little more and return to the fact that 1) not everyone is going to love what I do and 2) if this reader didn't get what I was saying, maybe I didn't have the craft to say it as clearly as I thought I did. So maybe I'll go back and look at the story and see where I could have done better.

Don't like something I've written? Have at it. Don't like my kids? Don't tell me.