Tough But Fair

In remembering the late Joel Siegel, film critic for ABC, Steven Spielberg said that Siegel was tough but fair. I think for a film critic or a book reviewer, there is probably not higher praise.

Thinking back on the teachers who had the most influence on my life--they were all tough but fair. I had two teachers, though, who were incredibly tough on me--but not necessarily fair. When I asked one, a writing teacher, why, he said it was because I was a much better writer than my classmates and thus he could demand more of me. I was writing "A" work--for them. But I could do better. That gnawed at me. Was it FAIR? I don't think so, though I suppose in some existential way, some higher level of philosophy in grading, it was. He certainly made me a better writer. I recall him fondly.

The other teacher, immortalized as evil forever in High School Bites, was tough--and utterly unfair. She was nasty and mean. I suppose, in some sense, since she was uniformly rude, that all students were on her level, hideous playing field. So maybe she WAS fair. But I do NOT recall her fondly.

Now that I write books for a living, I can recall two reviewers who were not "fair." Though I think that sounds like a playground term. One was a developmental editor for a nonfiction book I wrote. She objected to my sense of humor in the way I write and said I clearly wrote by the seat of my pants. Nothing could have been further from the truth. My co-author was and is completely anal-retentive, and thus we had spreadsheets and flowcharts and thousands of pages of research. We could just write "funny." What I object most was her INFERENCE that people who are funny don't take their writing seriously. She cast aspersions on my work ethic. That was unfair. And basically I was, from that point on, the classic "difficult" author because I felt she was impossible to work with. That she was unfair.

Another book reviewer had sort of the same inference. It is not fair, to me, for reviewers to somehow infer whether a writer skated, or was lazy in a book, or any other such personal attribute. The work stands. Review the work.

But fair reviewers? Even if they don't like what you write, they can give you cogent reasons. It is why I TREASURE my writers' group. I don't get lauded each time. They hold my feet to the fire. But they are fair. Last week, BOTH of my critique partners questioned something having to do with a cop and his behavior. They are right. It will be changed in rewrites this week. They said good things, too--and I value that even more because I earned it from two tough critics.

Thoughts?