Re: writing is vain (was: Re: What Editors Think of Self-Published Books)

In article
<e99f49bf-476e-40e0-a19d-bed5b7f63be5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
ing <ing.blueyes@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

A fragile ego in need of constant pampering is a boring frustrating
task for anyone, specially folks on a newsgroup. And most specially
THIS newsgroup. OTOH, complete obliviousness to criticism is the
other end of the spectrum and just as frustrating and boring to those
who find themselves dealing with it -- or observing it.

There's as quote by Churchill, I think, about criticism - to the
effect that it's a lot like when you get a pain in your body. Maybe
it's signifying that there's something wrong - or maybe it's just a
minor twinge - but the pain deserves investigation, regardless.

You tend to write a lot about how the world affects you. You write
from the "I", "me" perspective. Sometimes I think I'd just like to
read about how Heather views the world without bringing herself so
blatantly into it.

That'd then give me the job of trying to figure out why she thinks and
views things in the world that way -- and it would, if written
strongly enough and observantly enough, make Heather a whole lot more
interesting to me, the reader, than her telling me stuff -- outright.

Written strongly enough -- and intriguingly and objectively enough --
I'd maybe find stuff to identify with, the ideas expressed, etc.
Reading columns, blogs, etc., I've never been engaged by writers who
don't show me what they're seeing, of folks who just go on about
themselves endlessly with the I, me, my stuff. I find it
excrutiatingly boring. Just my opinion.

For instance, there's this whole big foofra going on (it's even hit
Canuck papers) about liberal folks getting all het up about this Rick
Warren fella who's gonna give an invocation at the Inauguration on
January 20th. The gays are beside themselves -- it's all about THEM it
seems. We should all be insulted on their behalf. <sigh>

Good lord. And because most of them can't seem to shut up about this
dumb thing, can't look at stuff objectively and just scream on and on
about their personal feelings on the topic, I've had to stop reading
most of them. Too self-involved, too unobjective --- too "all about
we" ***. Know what I mean?

Here's the deal about newsgroups - it's junior high.

Most of the people on this group (not Heather) are old hippies who grew
up thinking the world revolved around them, and they're hanging onto
that idea. Plus, a number of them are socialists which makes them even
more reprehensible. These things add up to a conceit that "all are
equal" here and the minute they begin, in their rampant insecurity, to
think another post has surpassed them in any way, they begin to
viciously attack, and their fellow hyenas do the same. Being not
terrible creative, they'll post retorts to comments like mine such as
"Oh, the irony" or some other worn-out rejoinder.

But I'm sure you knew all this.
.