Toughen up

Writers and artists must learn to withstand mockery, abuse and misunderstanding as an essential part of their careers.

John Mortimer, Where There's a Will

John Steinbeck

A few months back ("That's wonderful," Nov. 3, 2023) I wrote about how John Steinbeck's wife said the writer always asked her to read his novels and comment, but what he really wanted to hear, she said, was, "That's wonderful." And that is what we all want to hear, no matter what we do.

But as John Mortimer observes in Where There's a Will, what we want is not what we usually get, especially if we choose a career which, in effect, begs for a public response. He mentions writers and artists, but actors also fit into that category. If you want people to pay money for what you offer, those people have every right to tell you, "That's crap."

I have been reviewing books for most of my life, and I think I have more often written something closer to "that's wonderful" than "that's crap." One reason is that if I hate a book, I usually have the luxury of being able to put it aside and pick up something better. But I am also a softy. I don't take as much pleasure in saying "that's crap" as some critics do, although I sometimes do say it. Honesty is as important as kindness.

Yet writers and other creative people must, as Mortimer suggests, toughen up so that they can withstand the criticism that comes with the territory and keep going. Steinbeck sometimes got bad reviews, whatever his wife said about his books, but he kept writing.