Saturday, April 22, 2006

The Green Eyed Monster

Here in midwestern suburbia, on the fringes of Appalachia,( far from the city... you get it, I live in the sticks, BFE as my kids used to say,) I write stories, some long, some short, all fiction. When I'm not writing, I'm researching. Looking for information on everything from publishers seeking authors to ways to market a book. In that process I've stumbled onto writers forums, writers blogs, writers websites- and in some cases been thunderstruck by the meaness and sheer venom some writers are expressing about other writers. The internet has changed the way every business works, and the arts; music, literature, and movies, are no exception. From my viewpoint, there is never a reason to publicly slam another person. When actors do it to actors, or writers do it to writers, it can be fueled by nothing more than jealousy. When anyone publicly ridicules another in their same industry, its shameful and makes the instigator look small in my opinion. Call it naive if you must, but think how much more powerful an industry can be if it's members are each others cheerleaders.

My mother used to say "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." She also said "pretty is as pretty does", but that's a story for another day.

2 comments:

Kat Campbell said...

It is a shame. Courtesy and manners have both gone the way of the dinosaur and we're less for it.

Anonymous said...

I don't like this either. Putting down another doesn't change one's circumstances. Criticism intended to belittle someone else has no real effect other than on those being criticized; and if they are mature, it won't matter to them. As adults, we are rarely assessed in comparison with one another; school ended when it ended, life is not a quiz and there is no longer a curve. These immature critics could grow up and realize that success is a measure one's accomplishment relative to one's ability.