Managing Criticism

Nov 09, 2006 23:45

So somebody made a link to a page on my D&D site, stating that what I wrote was mediocre but I had some links worth looking at.  It's hard to argue with somone linking to my site and generating traffic, I guess, but I freely admit it bothers me.

On one hand, part of me has to conceed that if you're looking for more academic-style writing, my D&D site isn't the place to go for it; the whole thing is going to be mediocre because I'm not out to engage in a whole lot of footnoted outside sources.  I've thought about trying something massive and academic for one section but the very idea makes me tired; talk about a bus man's holiday.  I do research enough for school and even that is getting hard; I'm burned on MLA and write my sites for fun, thanks.

On the other hand, another part of me finds this to be one more drop in a big bucket that I tend to fill myself, telling myself that I never produce anything that's any good anyway.  My expressions have devolved.  I've grown less interesting.  No one cares what I think anyway, and when was the last time I had a good idea?  So why bother?  My fucking God I listen to that stuff all the time in my own skull and I hate it.

And then someone else in the courtroom of my mind stands up and says fine, mediocre, but some folks have found your sites helpful and they've gone out of their way over the years to tell you so.  So one man's trash is another's treasure, one man's medicine is another's poison.  So pick your fucking poison and leave me the fuck alone if you don't like what I've brewed.

I have to say, I like that last voice best.  It sounds the most like the me I used to enjoy being.   =)

(Cross posted from my message boards)

rants

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