Critic-Driven Writers
|
by: Guest |
An article by a prolific EzineArticles.com writer inspired me to write this piece. This is good. Writers make their livings by getting ideas from other writers. Not by plagiarizing or feeding off their work, but by coming up with fresh ideas. The aforementioned writer talks about the “dummying down of the population.” Whether dummying or dumbing, no one can argue the point. Tomes have already been written about it.
Due to lack of funding from our government, the educational system in America—the “no child left behind” educational system—has deteriorated to where unless they are in private schools, students can no longer read or write well. They hardly read at all, and what they write is acronym-ed to death (L0L). So when a contributor writes something worthwhile for electronic consumption, something of value that can benefit a reader’s life, let’s applaud that person for having the guts to be original, rather than target their misspellings. I’m not championing illiterates. But unlike bad spellers like novelist Norman Mailer, we don’t have the luxury of copyeditor angels sitting on our shoulders.
Good critics get paid well for their work because they are specialists in their fields. Take for example, Slate Magazine media critic Troy Paterson, New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani or the legendary Janet Maslin. Maslin is purported to have left the New York Times because she got tired of “having to review so much crap in recent years." Nevertheless, she still contributes.
The “crap in recent years" proliferates every corner of our culture. But that’s fodder for another article. I want to say here that everyone’s opinion should be respected. When we criticize someone else’s writing we are assuming the role of critic, so we had better know our subject as good or better than the person being critiqued. There are untold numbers of Monday morning critics amidst the vast e-writing population. They make us aware of this with their ego-driven acidic barbs. Instead of being helpful and original, they get their material by preying on the efforts of others—kind of like hyenas. Hyenas are the vilest kind of predators; they wait for others to make the kill, before feeding on the carcass.
Rather than criticize when you might not be competent to do so, why not peruse some of the thousands of online pieces for themes you can use and give them your own spin? You don’t have to agree with what someone writes. But just one or two words from a single article can trigger a multitude of your own. Alluding to his enormous lifetime of work, Normal Mailer said, Quantity Changes Quality.” I’m convinced of it.
“Simplicity-Courage-Humor-Soul”®
A writer/editor, I work with one client at a time, beginner or pro, for a cost effective solution to your writing and editing needs. Visit me at http://www.susanscharfman.com.
About the Author
Rating: Not yet rated