Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
I am taking my first college level creative writing course. I am terrified that my professor may very well take one look at my work and tell me to “keep my day job.” A friend says in response to me that even though this person is a professor, she is just one person. And there may be others who think my writing has something to it.
This got me to thinking. There are great writers out there who have critics. There are poor writers who have fans. But the truth is just as art is subjective, so it is literature. I don’t care if it is a non fiction book, a comic book, or poem, writing is just as much a work of art as a song, a painting or a sculpture. And the beauty of art is very much in the eye of the beholder, the ear of the listener, the mind of the thinker, or the hands of the sculptor.
Have you have ever been in a class, workshop, or seminar, and have the teacher (or other appropriate instructional figure) say something along the lines of…”There are no stupid questions. Chances are if you have a question it is likely someone else may have the same or similar question.” That’s exactly what makes the arts in a broad sense of the word is. If I can think of a fantasy story and think it is neat or original or entertaining, chances are, someone else may happen to agree. And there’s never going to be one creation which please everyone. Dislike is not personal, it just is what it is. Somethings fit and some don’t.
So I write. I write and I write and I hope to reach some others out there on some level. I know there will be critics. I know there will be fans. And I know that the love and effort I put into each project will never fade and no matter how many critics are out there, they can’t take away the love I have for the written word.
Good Stuff Katie — I agree 100% and I think that’s what makes creative work so exciting. It is subject to the interpretation and perspective of the person viewing, listiening to or reading it.
Unlike mathematics or science — there are no right or wrong ways of doing things in art — there are only interpretations.
Hi Katie,
You are so right. I love to read and lately when I purchase a book, I will go to amazon.com and look at the ratings. Sometimes a book I very much enjoy will get mixed reviews. The comments will tell you that when you write in a specific genre, there will be those that have absolutely no interest and then there will be those that will hang on to every word depending on their interest. Take me…I don’t like Harry Potter books. That comment alone could get me ostracized in certain circles ; ) I did however enjoy the Chronicles of Narnia which some friends of mine thought were mind numbing.
I didn’t get Harry Potter either. Seemed like a slightly different spin on the same old fantasy genre.
You know I haven’t read any of the ‘Harry Potter’ series and I don’t think that I will so I can’t fairly say that I am or am not a fan…but I don’t think the books are for me. Which isn’t to say they aren’t well written or good books… and I too like the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’! That was a favorite of mine as a kid!