Yeah, I'm pretty sure I was supposed to this challenge for three days in a row, but we went camping this weekend, where I was thrown off a horse. Don't worry, I didn't get hurt. I was riding bareback, and my nephew jumped on a tent. The horse spooked, and I landed on the ground. I just had to tell that story to salvage some manly pride, since I have not done this challenge properly.
Next Quote:
"I pay no attention to anyone's blame or praise. I simply follow my own feelings."
To be honest, I am not a fan of this mentality. (Although, I likely have it). So why did I use this Mozart quote? On the surface, I wonder if it was even true for Mozart. I think he cared deeply and immensely about people's praise and blame. He craved adulation. He was driven to despair by criticism, especially from his father.
Yet, deeper... And concerning his craft... Mozart didn't let the opinions of others affect what he wanted to create. His father, the one with the most power over him, often reminded him not to neglect the popular. Call it what you may, stubbornness, arrogance, inventiveness, or genius, he couldn't confine himself solely to the music people wanted him to write. Salzburg didn't want piano music. He wanted to explore the newfangled instrument. So he moved to Vienna for creative freedom, but just bumped into another group trying to tell him what to create.
Thus, he sank into depression when he didn't get the praise he wanted. What type of questions did he ask himself as criticism came his way? Reactions we tend to have when dwelling with... gnawing on criticism: "What the hell is wrong with them? What hell is wrong with me? Why don't they like it? Why do I?"
The battle becomes even harder when one doesn't like, or is tired of, the artistic norms. This can, at times, be dangerous closed-thinking. And, my own writing struggles surface. I finished a work a couple of years ago, and I can see why people wouldn't like it. And, I don't even know what market it would appeal to. But, I think I am too attached to it, to do the major changes some might want to see. (That's not to say I believe it is perfect.) What do I do? Just work on something and attach less emotions to it? (Sure, been trying that too).
(The following comes from a comment I made on Emily Moore's blog post on criticism.)
When is it right for an artist to say, ‘you’re wrong’ concerning criticism? I am not out to stress a kumbaya mentality that states ‘It only matters if you like it,” for if we want our work to sell, someone, somewhere has to like it. And certainly, I have issues creating this shell of arrogance that says, ‘they’re just not smart enough to understand what I’m trying to do.’ (Clearly Mozart did as well.) As do a number of indie and literary writers out there that criticize everything and anything mainstream. Maybe, others are smart enough, and they simply don’t like it. I know there have been works (supposedly deep ones) that I have understood, but haven’t liked..
But, how does one know when the critics are wrong? I remember hearing Cloris Leachman once speak of how, because certain actors ‘know’ the right things they’re supposed to do, they believe they are good actors. She in turn stressed they are not good actors, but cliché. I liked that application for writing.
So, what do you do with criticism that goes as such, “for this genre you’re supposed to yada…” When in you’re thinking, “Yeah, but I hate it when they do that.” Didn’t many of the great transitionalists meet such criticism? Yet, I guess, maybe… that’s the hope arrogant wannabe writers cling too? I don’t know.
The next target of this challenge shall be Rachel Stevenson who writes the blog What She Wrote. A writer with a nice gritty voice (in her works not her blog), she has hosted a couple of critique party's on her sight. And, I have received valuable feedback from a couple of my less emotionally-attached works. She may be busy with her own projects, but I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to promote her blog. (Just to highlight the rules: Write about one quote a day for three days, challenging another blogger to do the same each day.)
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