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February 26, 2009
Damn, That's Harsh!
Today as I scanned the online news I came across a review that started like this:
"Would somebody please take playwright [name removed]'s typewriter away from him before he writes again?"
Whoa.
Coincidently, just last night I watched the "Gilmore Girls" episode where Rory writes a scathing review and catches all kinds of hell from the object of her criticism. I felt for Rory. But I also agree with her editor's exhortation to write about her opinions.
On the other hand, I think the guy in today's paper went too far. As a writer I don't think it's okay to tell someone that they should stop writing. And it's certainly not okay to actively encourage people to forcibly prevent a writer from writing.
We all do work that is less-than-good. If we're lucky, we fall under the "good" line only occasionally. But all writers miss the mark sometimes, so it seems woefully unfair to throw someone out of the writer ranks just because one person didn't like one piece of the writer's work.
I would be devastated if someone wrote such a thing about me or tried to ban me from writing for life. So, I don't think I could ever do such a thing, no matter how much I hated what the person had written. I can hardly imagine a fellow writer treating another writer that way.
Yet there it was in black and white.
Posted by Selena at February 26, 2009 02:05 PM