A general question to the house

[ksmith]

When critique crosses the line into cruelty, who is served?

Besides the author au jus, that is.

UPDATE: posted in the Comments section.

Comments

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I should have been more specific and said "criticism" rather than "critique," but they can boil down to the same thing, so I think all comments apply. The overall sense I'm getting is that anger can play a role. Entertainment value. Frustration.

What triggered my question was this link, and the discussions linked therein:

http://community.livejournal.com/genreneep/110614.html

Sometimes you wonder whether folks realize that their posts can be read by the interested parties, or if they care, or if they feel that they've the perfect right to post what they posted and, well, everyone's entitled to their opinion.

One thing I have noticed over the years is that there does seem to be, imho, a slant toward the sentimental in some nominated and award-winning stories. The evocation of emotion...there's a balance that is often difficult to achieve, and the balance one thinks one has achieved may not work for everyone. One reader's three-hanky I Love This is another's Fling It Against the Wall. I recall shaking my head over a couple of award nominees (one Nebula winner, one Hugo nom) where I felt the emotions were very 1-D and heavy-handed. The point was driven home with a dull axe.

But some readers like dull axes. And what do you do about that?

Many of us in this particular corner of LJ qualify as professional readers. We see missteps that the more casual or entertainment-oriented reader may not see, and things bug us that pass many readers right by. And while some of these missteps may bug the living shit out of us, there isn't much we can do about them except vote for other works come award time and swear off the writers in question. Because our tastes aren't the universal. Because Story is personal, it affects for many reasons, and some of those reasons don't necessarily include what we would call good writing.

Do I think there are badly-written stories out there. Oh yes. But what point is served by burning them and pissing on the ashes?

[davidlevine]

I have no idea why nihilistic_kid posts so vituperatively on everything. He must get something out of it, as do his readers. I suspect it is the pleasure of the bad review (and I must confess I enjoy a really scathing movie review as much as the next person).

I also want to state for the record that comments like "well, if this can get nominated, I guess anything can" can hurt more people than just the author of the story under discussion.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I have no idea why nihilistic_kid posts so vituperatively on everything. He must get something out of it, as do his readers. I suspect it is the pleasure of the bad review (and I must confess I enjoy a really scathing movie review as much as the next person).

Yeah, so do I. Especially when I feel the work isn't particularly good anyway. It's like justification--yes, I have taste. Not making any money, but taste I got.

I also want to state for the record that comments like "well, if this can get nominated, I guess anything can" can hurt more people than just the author of the story under discussion.

Been there, heard that. The cool comfort comes from the fact that the people who say that haven't been nominated.

*glyph of one-finger salute*

Congratulations on the nom, David, and good luck.