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Brandon Sanderson vs. Criticism

I consider Brandon Sanderson the best fantasy author. Unfortunately, despite being a Utah Mormon, he's got a bunch of trendy lefty ideas. They help him fit in with other writers.

I just saw something even sadder. He's really anti-criticism:

... A famous author once said to me early in my career, “Don’t worry. If your book works for me, I’ll talk about it. If it doesn’t, I just won’t say anything.”

That has always stuck with me as being the best way for another writer to approach reviews. The last thing that authors need is to feel that someone prominent in the field is gunning for them.


Elliot Temple on October 7, 2016

Messages (3)

maybe being anti-criticism and avoiding it helped him thrive as an author and become the best fantasy writer

imagine if someone have told him his stories were shitty

when he didn't have the capacity to not be negatively affected

then you would have no favorite fantasy writer

he might have killed himself or been an anon making big macs

if he is still a good writer despite disliking criticism, that is criticism of your idea that criticism is always the best thing

i think there is something to learn here and you're missing the opportunity being disappointed


Anonymous at 12:16 PM on October 8, 2016 | #6773 | reply | quote

> imagine if someone have told him his stories were shitty

what, you mean like more or less everyone told him for the many, many years he got rejection after rejection and couldn't get published?

Sanderson is very good in limited areas. He has learned a great deal from private criticism of his work. His concern with public reputation doesn't mean he can't take criticism intellectually. He can and has, at least on some topic like his writing. He had to in order to get good.

you are an apologist for irrationality who doesn't know anything about Sanderson's history. you're just making up arbitrary crap in line with your anti-reason views.

you want me to learn that reason has limited power, but you don't have the rational arguments to persuade me, just sloppy attacks.


curi at 12:22 PM on October 8, 2016 | #6774 | reply | quote

you're also making sloppy attacks to dismiss me

you're not interested in what i have to say

you call me anti-reason

you're not treating a disagreement seriously

i do not want you to learn that reason has limited power

i disagree with you over what is rational and good

no, i don't know his history, why do you expect me to?

you created the confusion yourself by not explaining what kind of criticism he dislikes

if what he doesn't like are public attacks to his reputation

that is not the same as disliking criticism

and it could be if he was not discouraged by early criticism and rejection it was because someone told him not to care

abusing people you know to be irrational is bad btw

it makes you a bad person


Anonymous at 2:48 AM on October 9, 2016 | #6780 | reply | quote

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