***TAKING CRITICISM: DEFENSE VS. SURRENDER***
Taking criticism is something all authors have to do whether
it’s constructive advice from a friend or an all out assault from a complete
stranger. I’ve seen my fair share of both since I got serious about writing in
2001. Developing a thick skin isn’t always easy. It’s not something ready-made
or even something you’re born with. But regardless of whether you’ve got paper
skin or a suit of steel armor, there comes a time in every author’s career when
he has to decide: is this piece of literature worth defending or should it be
surrendered to the critics? The trick here is to find a balance between defense
and surrender; it can never be all or nothing.
I know this, because throughout the 2000’s when I was wild and
young, I would defend everything I wrote. Everything! It didn’t matter if it
was good or bad, offensive or sterile, first draft or multiple, I had a huge
enough ego to believe that everything I wrote turned to gold. Whenever somebody
online would tear down my walls, I built them back up ten times stronger. In my
mind, because I had the first amendment on my side, I never had to apologize
for anything I wrote and I was absolved of all guilt. And then December 27th,
2009 rolled along and a small army of angry Deviant Art members logged on to
tell me how ageist an essay I wrote called “Class of ‘13” was, where I
absentmindedly labeled high school students a bunch of text-messaging queens. I
fought valiantly against this small army, but ultimately decided ageism against
the youth wasn’t worth defending, so now Class of ’13 is gone from my Deviant
Art gallery. To this day, I still take issue with people who blame millennials
for everything wrong with the world.
And then came the 2010’s and I found myself doing a lot more
surrendering than defending. I don’t know if that 2009 experience jolted
something inside me or if maturity kicked in, but it’s like my dad once said
about me: I’m friends with everyone. It’s true. I value friendship and growth
so much that I purposefully tiptoe around delicate issues. That’s why in 2014
when I wrote an erotic kidnapping short story called “Tainted Love”, I took it
down days later when it received criticism for being sexist (even though one
person said it was steamy and hot). Because I took the calm and collected
approach, I found my friendships still intact and I’m still a long and strong
member of the WSS, which I take a lot of pride in.
While turning the other cheek will keep you out of trouble
and out of the crosshairs of angry keyboard warriors, you can’t take that
attitude with everything you write. If you whitewashed the offensiveness out of
everything you wrote, you’d have a whole lot of nothing in your repertoire. It’s
like that Face Book meme once said: it’s better to write for yourself and have
no public than write for the public and have no self. For a guy who preaches
individuality and nonconformity in almost all of my poetry, I sure do curl up
in the corner when the heat gets hot. That’s not a good strategy for someone
who wants success in the writing industry.
I know this, because one of my novel ideas is currently on
hold due to it potentially being rejected by the websites I plan on posting it
on. It’s called Puberty X Piracy and it’s an urban fantasy story about a
teenager who uses and distributes online porn. On one hand, I could defend this
as something that’s personal to me since I like a good wank too. On the other
hand, writing this novel could be grounds for termination from whatever social
media sites I’m using because of its explicit themes of masturbation, actual
sex, and male genital mutilation. Of course, I don’t necessarily have to post
these chapters on social media, but it’d be nice to get something out there
that didn’t result in catastrophe.
I said before that the key to surviving life as an author is
knowing the difference between what is defensible and what needs to be
surrendered. I tried defending everything in the 2000’s and it ended horribly.
It’s the 2010’s and I’m surrendering everything, but there’s a good chance
somebody might like the things I’m surrendering. Which one’s worse: being a
dick or missing opportunities? I’d like to think that’s an easy question, but
at some point, I have to start sticking up for myself. I just can’t tell the difference
between when it’s necessary and when it isn’t.
A common litmus test for this debate is to gage how many
people agree or disagree with the piece of literature in question, but that’s
not always accurate. There are people who love the shit out of Fifty Shades of
Grey and despite the hell out of Winnie the Pooh. Yes, folks, there are people
who fucking hate Winnie the Pooh. And Tigger. And Piglet. There are also people
who wouldn’t mind sucking on a “Christian Grey flavored popsicle”, whatever the
fuck that is. Like I said: write for yourself, not the public. There are people
in this world who still think the earth is flat. I may surrender a lot of my
talking points, but I refuse to hand the keys of the kingdom to a bunch of
flat-earthers. It’s round, motherfuckers! It’s round!
If popularity is a bad litmus test for defensiveness vs.
surrender, what’s a good one? That’s a question I don’t have the answer for.
I’m 32 years old and celebrating my 16th year as a semi-professional
author, yet I’m no closer to tapping into that particular piece of wisdom. I
know I’m shouting into the abyss when I post these blog entries, but I’m still
shouting, damn it. If any of my readers have the slightest inkling as to what
the answer could be, let me know and I’ll take it into consideration. We’ve got
ears, say cheers!
***AMERICAN DARKNESS 3***
Until I become fully committed to Puberty X Piracy, I’m
going to start working on the third installment of American Darkness a.k.a. the
series of stories that once made Andy Peloquin exclaim, “DARK SHIT!” I have
fifty-two story ideas in this particular volume, but all I need is fifty and
I’m going to go down the list alphabetically. That means the first story to go
in this book will be…slightly less dark than the others. Probably not the best
way to start a book with darkness in the title, but it starts with an A, so
suck it. It’s called “Adorably Clueless” and it goes like this:
CHARACTERS:
- Billy Mann, College Librarian
- Mia Rodriguez, Flirty Customer
- Dottie Jackson, Billy’s Coworker
PROMPT CONFORMITY: To be announced.
SYNOPSIS: Billy has gone through his entire life without
experiencing romance and is feeling lonely and sad because of it. One day at
the college library, Billy checks out a few books to Mia, who unbeknown to him
was flirting with him the entire time. When Mia walks away, Dottie giggles at
Billy and calls him “adorably clueless” when it comes to his social awkwardness
and inability to detect flirtation. With the college’s “Second Chance Prom”
coming up in a few weeks, Billy has to get his act together if he wants to
capitalize on this almost missed opportunity.
***DARK FANTASY WARRIORS***
Because my next first draft book will be a collection of
modern day dramas, the number of characters from the fantasy genre I have left
to draw are limited to two: Debra Lynch (elf rogue) and Johnny De Morgan (human
busker), both of them from the final Poison Tongue Tales 2 story “Street
Sleeper”. If I really want to continue drawing these characters, I’ll have to
find another source other than stories I’ve already written.
***THE CAT WHO ROBBED A BANK***
I’ve been a Lilian Jackson Braun fan since I became a
born-again reader in 2009. I’ve given all of her books passing grades for their
light material and cute kitties. This one will be no different, though you’re
probably asking why I keep reading these “Cat Who” books if they’re so
predictable. That’s basically like asking why I keep buying CD’s of a certain
band if they do the same kind of music: because I fucking like them! If you
like something, don’t question or pick away at it. Don’t surrender that shit to
anybody with ignorant questions. See what I did there?
***JOKE OF THE DAY***
Q: What do you call a
blacksmith who likes butt sex?
A: Forge packer.
***POST-SCRIPT***
Just in case there’s any confusion, no, I won’t surrender
that joke either.
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