Unlike Shya, I see absolutely no problem with “singling out” a story whose style you find lacking. I see no problem with using it to point to the faults of a greater trend. I’m sorry, but you don’t want to “raise your fist against a fellow author”? What is this? Nursery school? Be bold! If it’s bullshit, if it’s boring, if it doesn’t deserve to be given a Pushcart, if you can explain why it doesn’t deserve to be given a Pushcart — and yet it’s given a Pushcart in front of other, more worthy stories? By God — you are in your right to start swinging haymakers! You have all the justification in the world.

If an artistic mode is flagging, if it’s weighed down by cliches of its own design, if it makes for uninteresting and unentertaining reading, it should be taken down. It’s the Law of Life. It’s wolves stalking the old. It’s Jack London. Eggs are going to be broken. Skulls are going to be crushed. Feelings are going to be hurt. It’s life.

Frankly, if an author can’t handle criticism — and has the temerity call up a stranger and complain that legitimate (or, hell, illegitimate) criticism hurt her precious feelings? She needs to get out of the business. Enough with the coddling of mediocre talents. Enough.

Let’s make a stand.

Roll up your fucking sleeves, ladies. Brace to meet the fray. Let’s pull for truth over politeness. Let’s dig for fire. No one said the high-profile literary life was going to be pretty.

And if they did, hell — line them up and shoot them with the rest.

- Comrade Red

Unlike Shya, I see absolutely no problem with “singling out” a story whose style you find lacking. I see no problem with using it to point to the faults of a greater trend. I’m sorry, but you don’t want to “raise your fist against a fellow author”? What is this? Nursery school? Be bold! If it’s bullshit, if it’s boring, if it doesn’t deserve to be given a Pushcart, if you can explain why it doesn’t deserve to be given a Pushcart — and yet it’s given a Pushcart in front of other, more worthy stories? By God — you are in your right to start swinging haymakers! You have all the justification in the world.

If an artistic mode is flagging, if it’s weighed down by cliches of its own design, if it makes for uninteresting and unentertaining reading, it should be taken down. It’s the Law of Life. It’s wolves stalking the old. It’s Jack London. Eggs are going to be broken. Skulls are going to be crushed. Feelings are going to be hurt. It’s life.

Frankly, if an author can’t handle criticism — and has the temerity call up a stranger and complain that legitimate (or, hell, illegitimate) criticism hurt her precious feelings? She needs to get out of the business. Enough with the coddling of mediocre talents. Enough.

Let’s make a stand.

Roll up your fucking sleeves, ladies. Brace to meet the fray. Let’s pull for truth over politeness. Let’s dig for fire. No one said the high-profile literary life was going to be pretty.

And if they did, hell — line them up and shoot them with the rest.

- Comrade Red

That said, I’ve had negative things written in response to things here, as well as to my own fiction and have always tried to chalk it up to “well, that’s what I get for putting myself out there”. I once had an agent write “this offended me” about a satire/novel I wrote. Yeah, it hurt and confused me. But, hey, I sent it out. Another time, a story of mine was bashed in a blog. I wrote the guy- not saying “my feelings were hurt” but just correcting him on the wrongness regarding the career ( a factual point) of another author. By writing him and correcting him, I let him know that I had read his post on me. He thanked me for the correction. So, I’m no stranger to insults and the pain they cause, but I do think it is part of putting oneself out there.

I was trying to tie in a certain “Iowa produces great writers” with a skepticism of that idea. It was meant to start a discussion, but perhaps a mean-spirited one, and so out of regret I took it down. It was in no way meant to be “this is everyhing that is wrong with literature”, but perhaps it was meant to say “don’t believe the hype”. Whatever, I’m too wimpy to continue it, because I suck at hurting people’s feelings.

I might be sensitive to this because a while ago I very publicly expressed similar disappointment in a story published by One Story, only later to be contacted by the author, who had been very hurt by my comments. And that wasn’t even with the added insult of people “chiming in” to agree with my pronouncement! Ultimately, I realized that there were much better things to raise my fist against than a fellow author, even if she does not share my aesthetic.

So, yeah, didn’t mean to get on a high horse or anything. Just speaking from experience.

I might be sensitive to this because a while ago I very publicly expressed similar disappointment in a story published by One Story, only later to be contacted by the author, who had been very hurt by my comments. And that wasn’t even with the added insult of people “chiming in” to agree with my pronouncement! Ultimately, I realized that there were much better things to raise my fist against than a fellow author, even if she does not share my aesthetic.

So, yeah, didn’t mean to get on a high horse or anything. Just speaking from experience.