Writer’s Rant
Aug. 2, 2025
Negative Feedback
Some people don’t like my blogs. I don’t take it personally, since most of them don’t even know me. They just disagree with something I have written and some feel the need to chastise me for expressing my opinions. If I was required reading (like a homework assignment), I would understand it. But I’m not, so why bother?
Some of my critics are other writers. You would think that writers would be supportive of each other, and most are, but there are a few who, for some reason, find no pleasure in that. I tend to believe that they are just basically unhappy people. Their attitudes remind me of a part time job I took a couple of years ago after I had retired. I drove a tour bus and transported the (nameless) State Symphony, made up of both professional and non-professional musicians, to various venues. (The state shall remain nameless so to avoid the wrath of a few). There were two groups of musicians- union and non-union. The non-union musicians were overall, a nice group of people. The union members were all professional musicians. Some, but not all, thought very highly of themselves. They were not friendly, they were understandably meticulous about their instruments (I was not allowed to load them) and they complained about most everything having to do with the mode of transport. Things like “the bus is not parked close enough to the curb” or “the bus has not been lowered enough to step into.”
My point being, the arts contain many critics within their ranks. Sometimes, the more successful they are, the more arrogant and narcissistic they become. And these people who see themselves as successful and worthy of our laud, take pleasure in admonishing the efforts of those still making their way. They seem to forget that they were once where we are.
I am ok with criticism, provided it is constructive and not demeaning, I belong to a writer’s group who meets weekly to discuss our current projects, and we provide samples of our writing for consideration and comment. A discussion follows with constructive advice from their various perspectives. That’s the way life should be; do our best, strive to do better, be open to others’ ideas, and when asked, provide constructive criticism. And most of all, we should be happy for and encourage the success of others. And maybe, just maybe, they will do the same for you.
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