While the post in question was a bit obnoxious, I find Wendig's response more troubling. He could have used this as an opportunity to discuss how professionals handle criticism, how it's simply part of the job, and once you put your work out there to the public you need to put your big kid pants on and suffer the opinions of that public. How sometimes you emerge from the forge of criticism as a better writer.
But nope. He used his bully pulpit to lash out at his critic (who, it should be noted, Wendig censored altogether when he first submitted his comment). And he fed his followers the attractive lie that if you write only to please yourself you are above criticism because we're all special snowflakes.
His reference to cooking is worth exploring. Yes, it's personal expression. And yes, we all have different tastes. However, there are real skills involved in becoming a chef, and there are genuine techniques you need to learn to become excellent at preparing food. Every one of us who dines out has every right to post a review of a meal - to call it bland or overdone or greasy or simply awful tasting. And any chef who believes criticism of her cooking is illegitimate because she's expressing herself in her own unique way is a fool.
Nothing good will come of the relentless corrosion of criticism, of undermining its very legitimacy with a misguided deference to relativism and egalitarian ideals. Something unhealthy is happening to creative culture when elitist has become the worst slur imaginable. Excellence is a thing. Artists and craftsmen should strive for it. It's hard, and we mostly fail to achieve it. But nothing of enduring excellence has ever been achieved simply by expressing ourselves the way we want and screw what anyone else thinks. Not unless you're a born genius. Chuck Wendig is not a born genius, and it's unlikely any of his fans are either.
And frankly, I find the cult of personality at these high-profile genre blogs distasteful. I understand that it's shrewd marketing, and I applaud anyone who can manage to make a living at this racket of writing fiction. But the pack mentality and tribalism demonstrated at these places almost puts me off the whole SF/F scene. It's funny how people who likely suffered exclusion from the dominant peer circles when they were at school will demonstrate all the same pack traits once they have a scene of their own.
