A friend of mine said, "Christian music is the only genre where you can really suck and get away with it." If you play at a bar, the guy in front rocking the air guitar is going to explore the depths of his limited four letter drunken vocabulary to tell you just how he feels about your mediocre guitar riffs. This sort of environment has two results, 1) you either get better so next time he rocks out Van Halen style 2) you decide getting better isn't worth the trouble, so you give up and free the world from listening to your 'artistic' version of the Final Countdown.
I know I know, people put a lot of work into their art. I really don't mind people being bad at something on their way to doing it well (otherwise we're all screwed), I just wish Christian audiences (and otherwise) would express honestly what they did and didn't like about something (to the artist). "Well Jason, your writing is a bit scattered. It makes me think you are buying your essays from a website run by squirrels. Frankly I think your ideas are nuts (sorry)."
So here's what I suggest you do. Next time someone shows you a piece of writing, or maybe a song they wrote, really read it. Either read it thoroughly, or tell them you don't really have the time. Make observations like "I don't think this is very interesting, because...." or, "I thought those lyrics were a little bland, it may have been a meaningful expression of your experiences, but you didn't effectively recreate those experiences for me."
Artists do need encouragement, but if there is any hope that they will improve, they do need to know what they are doing wrong. If they can't take any thoughtful (thoughtful meaning a thought out specific response) criticism, they probably shouldn't be a writer, musician, or artist anyway.
Please join me in helping young musicians, writers, and other artists (myself included), by honestly expressing your opinion in a thoughtful way. Otherwise we will continue to produce cliche' mediocre pieces of work that you will have to listen to, look at, and lie about for the rest of your life.
Thank you to those who have had the cahones to be critical of my writing.
3 comments:
Squirrels. Have you been reading Donald Miller today?
I agree entirely. In high school I worked at a Christian bookstore, and while I was there I decided that I definitely wanted to publish in the Christian lit genre. Why, you may ask? Because I recognized that alot of the stuff on the best sellers list really wasn't that good and that it didn't take half as much talent to get noticed. I've changed my mind on that, though... if I'm not good enough to make it mainstream, then I need to try my hand at something else.
Sorry I haven't written back about your essay. It was good... and I didn't really have anything to add or subtract to it. Forgive me for not saying anything though... from experience I should know that when you put yourself out there and get no response, it can feel like a slap in the face :( Keep sending me stuff, if you would... I enjoy your writing and when I have something to comment on, you can be most certain I'll give it to you straight.
Ha. Thanks Ashley. I do read Miller's blog, so I may have inadvertently mimicked. He doesn't hold the copyright on use of squirrels.
I thought of several things to say then deleted them all. So instead I would recommend (incase you haven't read it already) Anne Lamott's 'Bird by Bird.'
Now since you didn't respond to that writing I sent you, go write five paragraphs of fiction in order to appease the literary gods.
No accusations of squirrel-related copyright infringement intended. I just thought it amusing that I read stuff about squirrels on two blogs on the same day :)
I read Bird by Bird a looooooonnnggg time ago (like 7 years). It probably deserves another read.
Not the literary gods! I wrote several musings between my blog and my paper journal tonight... does that count? I just don't think I'm cut out to be a fiction writer...
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