As we all know, when you write something, you put yourself "out there." You put your work up for criticism. We all dream of everyone loving our writing, and be respected, or loved, or both. A simple "good work" can make your day. However, your writing is not that special. People will disagree. Some will not like it. Others will hate. How do you deal with that? Answering this question would be the thesis for whoever wants to pick this topic.
The beauty of creative expression, including writing, art and film, is that it does provoke some kind of feeling. A good example is Van Gogh. Even if people hate the work, feedback is useful but your creation is still your baby. Perfect in your own eyes. – Munjeera9 years ago
There's an awkward balance between the "good works" and criticism for people who create art. You want people to think your art is good, but you also want them to provide their thoughts and feelings so that you can make it better. The fact of the matter is no matter what you write and how much time you spend on it, someone in the world will have issue with it. And then there will be people who don't provide any assistance and just say it's "really good." Finding the right balance between the two is the eternal struggle for artists and writers. – Nayr12309 years ago
Right, and then you can have a hundred good impressions, but if only one person doesn't like it, it will bug you. I tend to focus on that one person who didn't like it even though the overwhelming majority thought it was good. I don't like to do that, but it is just my unconscious reaction. I also always suspect whether those people who say that is good are telling the truth. – ismael6769 years ago
Having people disagree does not necessarily mean that the writing is bad or not special. It just provokes further argument or creates the need for more writing. Look at academic writing. Every article posted is well thought out and edited. However, I have written plenty of essays that are grounded on refuting one of those said articles. Negative criticism is a way of life, but as long as you continuously look at it as criticism that you can build off of and not as just someone telling you "you're terrible," then I think you will survive as a writer. – cletkiewicz9 years ago
In the past few years, we've seen a shift in popularity from written media criticism to video criticism. It's becoming more and more difficult to just be a writer, as you're now demanded to a do a video or record a podcast alongside it. In this new landscape, have there been people left by the wayside? Is it still possible to become established solely through writing?
This is a very important topic. As a writer I feel pressured to create vlogs, as I'm sure most others are too. Whether it's writing, art, gaming, or anything at all, people flock to various youtube channels rather than head to personally made blogs or online galleries. To succeed as a writer the publicity needed seems daunting... Is the anonymous writer a thing of the past? – Slaidey9 years ago
This is a great proposal. Social media and the development of new technologies forces people to come up with different ways to propagate and "consume" ideas. But we don't have to forget that choosing a "medium" to communicate your ideas depends on who you want to reach, what you want to say, how long you want it to to last, how seriously you want to be taken, and many other things. – T. Palomino2 years ago
From a societal point of view, how does an artist serve humanity through his or her works? Many artists simply get rich and famous, but is there more to it than that? What about those lesser known musicians, painters, filmmakers and such that make profound statements through their creations and performances? What makes an artistic performance profound in the first place?
Many artists are misunderstood and that is the problem, you 'll only understand an artists if you, yourself are a true artist. Sadly most artists don not get the recognition they deserve until after they have passed away. – petergeoff219 years ago
The poem "Portrait of the Poet as Landscape" by A. M. Klein could shed some light on this topic. – JennyCardinal9 years ago
This is sort of like the question asked in every art history/fine art class, "What is Art". It usually sparks a lot of heated discussion. However, finding out what it means to be an artist today vs perhaps in the renaissance could be an interesting point to start from – hmsnow9 years ago
I agree with the commentator above, it is a broad question. However, as a visual arts student on the cusp of graduation I would say being an artist in the contemporary art realm means being defined by other artists. Often in class I will hear comparisons being drawn between a learning artists work and a famous artist. We are constantly searching up artists who have already developed a unique subject matter that has defined them as worthy of attention within the art world. I am an artist however I am defined by the artists of the past and present, their techniques and subjects, and their successes and failures. – melpetrinack9 years ago
How have you built a daily writing habit while holding a job or going to school?
I use my partner's gym time as my accountability stick. We drive together to an area with both a coffee shop and a gym, and while he's at the gym (usually 2 hours per day) I sit and write. He's my ride, so I'm forced to stay in a location and write until the time period is up. I don't have the discipline to carve out a time for myself without external accountability (like being physically stranded). – Piper CJ9 years ago
I've found it helpful to have a writers' group with a small group of friends. Every meet-up we set an achievable goal (research this, write 500 words, make an outline), so we remain motivated and see our progress. – ckmwriter9 years ago
I've always been taught to start ridiculously small and work up. (Either by minutes or word count.) Sometimes I aim for 15 minutes a day (but one could even do 5 or 10 minutes to start off), first thing in the morning, which forces me to ensure I make time for that 15 minutes. Even with such a small time commitment, you are motivated to add more time to your daily goal, building up to 30-60 minutes. And even if you stick to a small goal, after one year you've ideally written for over 90 hours. – tracyrwdeboer9 years ago
I just love to write (or rather type) and creating short stories or novellas. It's something I don't even have to try and fit into my life because it is life. I think it started after a couple dreams. I wrote them down then realized I could expand upon them and as such I have created several stories that I am working on to publish someday. – The Pokemon Professor9 years ago
I use my son's nap times when I am at home, which still affords me a good couple of hours. At work, I use break times. Also, I write for at least one hour in the evening. Sarah Selecky's daily ten minute writing prompts are a fun way to get yourself into the daily writing habit. – LAMead9 years ago
Not quite quantity vs. quality but the application of one wholly, with the artful presence of the other throughout or around it in varying degrees within the same body whether physically or conceptually. Studying the sciences for many years, one can see this idea present in small things such as cells, grain structures within metals and the in the integrity of human cognition and other faculties of the mind. To what extent is this observation true in day-to-day life, art, consumer products? How can this observation or thesis be elaborated, modified or falsified?
This could have been an interesting proposal for an article if at least a single example was elaborated to illustrate the concepts loosely developed here. – T. Palomino2 years ago
This is a concept from the book "Autoethnography"…which refers to, I think, the concept of using our own "insiderness"' or that which makes me me and not you, as a template for further study and the hypothesization of generalities…Does this have any validity whatsoever, or is it just a bunch of BS…?
Possibly a bit of both, yes? – Munjeera9 years ago
From the way it is explained here, it does look like a bunch of the latter, certainly. – T. Palomino2 years ago
Discuss the use of adverbs in writing. Stephen King said to use adverbs as $100 bills and most writing adages say to exclude them in most cases. When might you want to use adverbs? Are all adverbs badverbs?
In screenwriting, adverbs are discouraged in favour or strong verbs that don't require any beefing up, in order to create a quicker, more streamlined read. I feel this is a tip which writers of almost any medium could adopt, with no detrimental effect to their own writing - after all, who doesn't want a quick, slick read? (Unless the writer's intention is exactly the opposite, in which case they must ignore the above!). This sounds like a fascinating, unusual topic. – J.P. Shiel9 years ago
From a playwriting perspective, parenthetical adverbs are often found prefacing lines of dialogue to reduce ambiguity in the author's intended tone. [For example. . . Tom: (angrily) Get back here, I'm not done talking to you!] Often, editors and dramaturgs will recommend that you cut down on using adverbs in this way - if not getting rid of them altogether - because they limit the potential for actors and directors to interpret the lines and emotions for themselves, from which they might discover more nuanced complexities lurking within the subtext. I imagine the rules are very different when writing a novel or short story, since those aren't mediated forms. Once a novel is written, it doesn't require anyone (such as actors and directors) to reinterpret it; it's a complete finished product made for a private discourse with its reader. – ProtoCanon9 years ago
Examine the current state of professional writing, journalistic and/or fiction, in the digital age, and the comforts as well as the difficulties that aspiring writers may have making a living off their work. For journalism, you can talk about how modern outlets rely increasingly on easily replaceable writers repeating the news instead of defined personalities and opinions, as well as the reliance on sponsored content for income resulting in a rift between the editors and writers. For fiction, you could talk about how digital and self-publishing has made it more difficult for large publishing houses to bring on new writers and compensate them properly, while at the same time self-publishing for a living carries it's own risks of being unable to easily reach a larger audience.
Great topic, one that I've recently written on. Some background information about the effects of social media on advertising revenue for journalism and literature publications would be helpful in grounding the exploration. As well, niching, or the death of the general interest magazine, could be covered as well. – Aaron9 years ago
