When I was in eighth grade, I took art at St. Francis Middle School in St. Francis, Minnesota. It was a one quarter class, which means it only lasted for a few short weeks, but in that time I learned something that has had a lasting effect on my life. A valuable lesson that tames my writerly neurosis just a little bit. I learned the harsh reality of subjective opinion.
Let me take you back…. I was (and still am) a perfectionist Virgo. I preferred art projects with crisp, definable elements, like drawing, collaging, and even scratch art. There was one particular assignment, a scratch art drawing of my dog, Muffye, that I absolutely loved. My teacher gave me a B. Minus. I was heartbroken. It had been one of my favorite projects the whole quarter, how could she give me a B-minus?
Our next project was a watercolor. There is nothing crisp or definable about watercolor. It’s organic and blurry and messy and everything I didn’t like–and wasn’t good at. We were supposed to make a watercolor copy of a magazine ad. I selected a plate of veggies. It was boring, but I thought it would be easy.
It was a nightmare. All the colors ran everywhere, it was hard to even get the color or the amount of pigment I wanted, and it looked nothing like the original picture. When I turned it in, I thought for sure I’d get a terrible grade. I mean, she gave me a B-minus for something I loved. I’d have to get a C or lower for this piece of garbage.
When I got the assignment back, I nearly fell over. On the back, in the upper right corner, was my grade.
100. Seriously. A perfect score. I’m not even joking.
In that moment, I learned a very important lesson about subjectivity. People have different opinions. I know that sounds shocking and all, but it’s true. Especially when it comes to creative endeavors. As individuals we all have personal taste, and one one person loves another will hate. And–this is the most important lessons for writers–there isn’t a darn thing you can do about it.
No matter how hard you try, you will never make everyone happy. In fact, trying hard will only lead to the opposite result. You have to write the very best book you can, and write it for the people you know will love your book. The hard part is ignoring the people that don’t, but that’s an essential part of staying sane as an author.
The other day I saw one of the worst reviews ever for Forgive My Fins. (Worst. Review. Ever.) One star, cutting comments, the whole works. It could have devastated me, but you know what? That reader doesn’t belong to me. She has other authors whom she loves, just as I have other readers who love me, and the fact that my books don’t click with her doesn’t mean anything except that my books don’t click with her. She is that teacher who gave me a hundred on a project I hated. I’ll leave pleasing her to the authors she loves, because I’ve got plenty of my own fans to make happy.
Comments