Don’t be shabby, be inspiring instead!
Brad Torgersen
You might be a fiction writer — perhaps, even a brilliant fiction writer — but there can be nothing positive said about a story that is told strictly for the sake of putting off, putting down, duping, fooling, or insulting the audience. You’re lying to your readers when you do that, and lying to your readers is just about the worst sin there is in the creation of fiction.
I am posting this here (and not on our sci-fi blog) because I believe Torgersen’s comments apply to all the members of our artistic class. I don’t know how many times I’ve turned on the television (or walked into a movie theater) and been insulted rather than entertained. At this point, I don’t consume any cultural product unless it has already been vetted by people I trust.
