Revision Process

[shemthepenman]

Why do you have to drag everyone and everything down into the toilet with you?

I didn't go personal, you did.

yes, i admit, my comments about rowens were uncalled for. i got all over enthusiastic, but what can you do? i'm only human.
in a general way, i just wanted to highlight the irony that the kind of people who are adamantly opposed to suggestions tend to be those who could possibly benefit from them. and it just seems a bit obvious when the old 'i write for myself. . . you don't understand me' line is used that it is often in defence of bad art; not necessarily but it happens with enough regularity that one has to acknowledge the connection. don't get me wrong, the 'you don't understand' argument is applicable in a lot of cases [i mean, look at these fools who didn't like Batman v Superman! clearly, they didn't understand the complexity of that film*], it's just not applicable in a lot more.

with regards to me saying you're not a genius, i'm sorry to have dragged you down into my lowly toilet of ungeniusness. please forgive me. and that goes for any other geniuses that may have taken offence.

NOTE: all of my comments about editing have been purely academic. because, hopefully, we all intuitively know what the purpose and benefits of workshopping and editing are [for us nongeniuses, that is]. there shouldn't be any mystery about that for grown adults. i am not advocating perpetual editing nor editing based on a critique that is clearly counter to one's intentions or better judgement. yet, experimenting with those suggestions costs nothing. also, i did say way way way way back at the beginning, editing will be relative to the critique.
and lastly, i wasn't arguing against individualism or that you cannot make good judgements about your own work, but rather i was arguing against the extreme individualism rowens was advocating, i.e. categorical opposition to suggested editing. i actually think a philosophical argument could possibly be made for this position. i just don't think rowens was making it.

*was it freud who said, there's no such thing as a perfect crime because the criminal always has a subconscious desire to get caught