ext_262949 ([identity profile] amakarie.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] feuervogel 2011-08-20 05:38 pm (UTC)

I had a couple disjointed thoughts on this...

1)I've been a beta, proofreader, and the point of being one is to objectively look at content and see what is being expressed and communicated. Whether's it's grammar or content proofing, you're supposed to read through, analyze what the writer's saying, then bring up any issues that you find. "I don't like" is not construtive criticism, and does nothing to help the writer. You have to TELL the writer why or ask questions to give the person clarity if there are issues.

2) That being said, there are people who are not going to like your writing, and especially if you try to get published, you're going to face a lot of rejection. Every published writer got turned down, spit on and the like hundreds of times before they were finally published. Although it's not helpful to you if this person says "this sucks," you have to move on. Look at whatever you can, analyze if any arguments are valid (which I doubt, see above comment), and keep progressing. Anybody can write, but allowing others to read your work is a whole other ball of wax, and you may get some ego-bruising from it in the end.

3) It is perfectly fine if your work is in a niche genre. I personally don't like fantasy novels, but that doesn't mean all fantasy novels suck. Despite that I can still read various types of work and analyze it. You've said that there is an audience for this type of work. I would embrace that and stop yourself from trying to be x, y, or z. If you're working with a distinctive genre, let it be what it is. I mean, Margaret Atwood isn't classic SF, but that doesn't discredit her as a good writer.

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