“Everyone’s a critic” or so they say. Especially as an artist or writer, when you’re putting your heart and soul out there for the world to scoff at. Everyone has to have their say in what you create and how you create. Certainly, constructive criticism is a good thing, but not all criticism is helpful. Some, probably most of it, can be ignored completely. The trick is to keep a cool head and not let it affect your sense of self.
You have to learn to sift through the mass of criticism to find the actual useful advice, like a prospector sifting through mud to find that one bit of gold. You have to balance opinion against opinion, and at the end of the day, it really is up to you, the creator, what you ultimately do. Other artists and writers may think they know what’s best for you, but they are not you. Only you can write how you write. Only you know how to paint like you.
Certainly there are objective standards of what good art and writing is and is not; but these are like lines on a road map. You can take any road you choose, go anywhere you want, but you still have to follow the map if you want to get there in a safe, and timely fashion. Art and story are the same way; you decide your destination, and you use paths made for you by the great creators of the past to get you to where you want to be. But NO ONE can choose your destination, or which road you take to get there.
The trick to all of this is learning to take it all lightly, something I’m still working on. It’s difficult when you’re exposing your inmost thoughts and feelings there for the world to deconstruct. We artists wear our hearts on our sleeves, and it is inevitable that they will be broken. It helps to remember that the vast majority of critics don’t have a bloody clue what they’re talking about. You are not required to give them your time or attention. You are not required to let them live rent-free in your brain.
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Thank you for reading, and see you next week!
Very true!