Taking too much stock in positive or negative criticism could be crippling for a writer. Edward Albee noticed that once playwrights lose the favor of their critics, they might become confused by being panned for works that are actually as good if not better than their earlier works that had won acclaim. Albee also one-upped this commonly held view among writers by claiming that the final evaluation of a dramatic work has nothing to do with the audience or the critic. He insisted that writers take an intensely personal view of their own work, resisting the temptation to compose for popular appeal, which can be fickle and undefinable.
Whether one agrees with Albee as I do, writers should take as lifelong advice the underlying value of his admonition. It's up to the writers themselves to decide whether their creations have value. That disposition will keep them writing.
Whether one agrees with Albee as I do, writers should take as lifelong advice the underlying value of his admonition. It's up to the writers themselves to decide whether their creations have value. That disposition will keep them writing.
