As I do both, I look to a comparison between writing to painting. Look at Da Vinci and Picasso. Both are freely acknowledged as artists. Both contributed to the revolution of artistic styles and “tropes” in their day. Nobody would argue the fact that they both created art. Saying one was an artist while the other was a craftsman is absurd. They both had something to say in their art, and they expressed it in ways unique to each of them.

The ability to craft a compelling story that reaches a reader’s emotions, to create worlds and characters out of thin air, is all about art. The techniques for getting paint on the canvas may be the same for Da Vinci and Picasso, but the images they create are all about imagination and artistry. Same with stories. What you want to say and how you tell it is your art. Categorizing something as “genre” or “literature” is, at least in my mind, more about marketing and helping readers find something specific than it is about the “quality” or the artistry of the story.

As a reader, I enjoy a range of artists, literary & genre alike: Jenny Crusie, Joan Hess, Donna Andrews, Eudora Welty, Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, Steve Perry, Anne McCaffery, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain. I don’t care for Franz Kafka, Dostoyevski, Alice Walker, Laurell K. Hamilton, George Orwell, Jeffrey Deaver, Voltaire. And this is just a tiny list of authors I’ve read – classics, literature, genre; I have opinions about all of them.

Oprah and any number of New York book critics have different opinions than I do. I don’t think their opinions are any “better” or more informed than mine are (after all, I’ve been reading since I was 4 years old and I took enough English Lit classes in college to count as a minor). They just have bigger audiences for their views.

As an artist, I believe in what I paint and I believe in what I write. That work comes from a place in my soul, and the finished product is a reflection of my unique artistry as well as my technical skill in the media of my art. I feel like I have a right to feel hurt if somebody trashes any art that I create, although I also believe that everybody is entitled to their opinions, being rude about opinions is unnecessarily malicious, and indulging in a public screaming match accomplishes nothing useful. (Private venting is something else. That what we have friends and family for.)

I’ve decided over the last few years to be proud of what I read, what I write, and my opinions about the same. I’ve decided it’s fine if others have different opinions, but they don’t get to denigrate me for mine, and I’ll return the courtesy by not denigrating theirs.

Thanks for throwing this topic out there.

First thing, be very glad you aren’t lumped in with the “high art” scene by the general populace. We tend to consider scene members spoiled, pompous, self-aggrandizing douchebags who spend most of their time in mutual mental masturbation.

You guys we like. You don’t write way out there stuff then call it a statement against some convoluted socio-political theory that you made up last week just to have something to speak out against. You’re real people writing stories for other real people to enjoy. It won’t ever get you respect from the snooty douchebags but it will get you much love and hopefully a decent living from the rest of us.

I think a lot of what gets sections of the general public dismissing works one genre or another as worthless is just a lack of perspective. We don’t try to see it from the point of view of people who enjoy those types of work. And honestly, I don’t blame us. Seriously, who the hell wants to go around having perspective all the time? It’s way too much effort and gives no useful return.

Now a final word about speaking up on bad reviews. I know you weren’t advocating this but it’s still a damned fine bit of advice that every author should keep in mind.

Never, ever, no matter how much you feel the need, should you argue on the Internet if your good image is remotely important to you or to how you make a living. If you’re exceedingly lucky, we will stick to the topic and present as rational an argument as we can but there are billions of us and one of you. I assume, being a writer, that you’re good with words but you will still be beaten with the million monkeys approach. More than likely though things will quickly devolve into personal attacks and eventually Hitler/Nazi references. Arguing on the Internet is bad.

I thought about what Cameron wrote, and on Wikipedia, a craft is described as “a skill, especially involving practical arts. It may refer to a trade or particular art”. So maybe then genre writers, like jjdebenedictis said, have (or utilize) a different skill set, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t art.

Maybe it’s like you said, if you put yourself into something, then you can view it as art. But then of course the question is if it has to resonate with others for it to be viewed as art. It’s always a question of who decides. I’d say that if you say it’s art (and mean it), then it’s art.

And if you really impact readers in one way or another, and you feel that you’ve accomplished something, then that’s what matters. If War and Peace was released over the summer in three consecutive books, how many people would be dying for the third installment to be released? I have no idea, but my point is: Just because something is entertaining, doesn’t mean it isn’t art.

I don’t think you have to deny your art to be popular with readers. Readers (not all of course) respect the choices YOU make with YOUR stories. Of course as a reader one can find it frustrating if the story doesn’t go in the direction that one would like but that can be one of the fun things about reading, when a writer surprises you and makes you see events or characters in a different way.

One reason I went on Twitter was so that I could follow all the brilliant people that are on there. I realized that where I am right now (in my life), authors are my rock stars, and to be able to communicate with my favorite authors, whether they respond or not, is just amazing to me.

I would say that Twitter is for writers what MySpace was used to be for artists/musicians. I’ve discovered wonderful authors (like Stacia Kane ) thanks to Twitter.

Don’t you think that it’s possible for writers to think that their art is great without being seen as arrogant by the readers? I love the fact that I’m able to share my love for books with the people who actually wrote them! The problem with having people like Jane Austen as a favorite author is that it’s kind of difficult to communicate. You can’t really write a fan letter to express your admiration. (Hmm, makes me wonder if Jane Austen would’ve tweeted if she’d been alive today. She was a cool person, so maybe but on the other hand I don’t know how much contact she’d like to have had with readers.)
It’s so great to discover that the genre of books I like is the one whose authors often choose to interact with their readers.

Also, it’s really fun to realize that writers are often just as nerdy about stuff as I am. It makes me less nervous to approach people I admire, when I can see we have things in common, but it doesn’t mean I don’t still admire them for the work they’re doing. Their art.