You know how when you like something, it seems like a whole lot of people know what it is, and they're really into it, and it's really cool and everything, and so clearly the whole world probably gets it except for those people who are just jerks?
And how when you don't like something, it's impossible to imagine anyone liking it, or how it could even exist, and people who like that must be dumb or crazy?
Well, neither of those things are true. Crush those things out of your thinking process. All that's going to do is make you uber-defensive when you write or create something that someone hates, or you come across something that you hate. Embrace things, and try to keep an open mind, even when it's oh Horses of Heaven so much easier to just. Not accept things and make huge sweeping generalizations and keep the world simple so you never have to feel bad for anyone else and anyone who interrupts this sweet monotone bliss is a jerkhead.
Look, I'm bad for it myself. I'm also bad for taking things personally, because it feeds my bitterness. And I'm oversensitive. Or 'flowery' as Luna puts it. Not flowery like that, I think she means flowery like... how a flower bruises really easily. She was saying fruity at first, but... that was even worse to me for some reason.
Uh. Moving forwards.
So it's really easy to think along the lines of... "I'm writing a romantic comedy, who doesn't like romantic comedies?" Well. A lot of people. And it's really easy to think: "Who the hell wants to read a tragicomic philosophical treatise on the morality of medical treatments." And you know, some people. Actually would. Even if everybody dies horribly at the end and we all feel like jerks.
I'm just. Grabbing examples that come to mind here.
You should not judge the quality of either story by how much you "like" it. Enjoyment is great. But bear in mind that we enjoy many things that are bad for us or downright stupid. Look at me and Luna. Likewise, quality is not some pure mechanical construct: if you want to read something that's perfectly precise in every day, then go read a dictionary or a text on mathematics.
We should embrace things that make us uncomfortable. We should struggle to broaden our horizons, open our minds, and instead of wasting so much time either praising or hating something irrationally - and praise can be as irrational as hatred, yes - we should look deeper. We should see the meaning from it, and embrace what we find. We should strive to enjoy things that are meant to be enjoyed, even when they conflict with our sensibilities and our morality; more than that, we should try and let stories in, and feel them. Do I agree that unicorns are a noble race? Not really. If I read a story about the noble unicorns, and their plight in fighting off the barbarian earth ponies, should I try and nitpick all the inaccuracies or should I just read the story, and try and keep my mind open, and see what the author is trying to say?
Well, I'll try. But I'm really bad at following my own advice. Still... we can always damn well try. And sometimes, just... keeping that open mind, looking beneath things, digging a bit into the unknown... it can lead to finding some pretty marvelous things.
Like, you know, a black pearl, for example.
~Scrivener Blooms
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