Board Thread:Administration/@comment-4832646-20140401205802/@comment-1196539-20140509162036

The Hooded Werewolf wrote: I agree that these rules can help lead to a better pasta, but my only issue is that a lot of these rules are subjective to whoever is reading the story. Some people will find John Steinbeck captivating while others will find him boring. That's true, to an extent. Judgement of any art is inherently a matter of interpretation by the reader/viewer, and is thus subjective. But just because everyone's opinions are subjective does not mean that some are not more valid and grounded than others. When you feel a sudden pain in your knee, and you have a relative who says "Naw, it's fine, bad knees just run in the family, nothin' to worry about," while your doctor suggests getting it looked at for fear of it becoming a serious issue, whose opinion are you likely to value more? The doctor has much more experience in the field and is likely a better judge of your physical health, even at a glance.

Likewise, good critics do their best to be as objective as possible in their analyses. A reader who is able to break down successes and flaws, and recognize cliches that have been done in abundance before, is going to be more useful and a better judge than your "AWESOME 10/10" or "THIS PASTA SUCKS" commenter. To that end, these guidelines are pretty much just common sense for writing a decent story.