False modesty · 1:01am Aug 4th, 2014
According to my calculations, approximately 84% of you reading this fic right now have, at some point, released a work of art in some form or other after having invested a decent amount of time and effort into creating it, and upon unveiling it to the rest of the word, you used some variation of this following sentence (with the main idea always being the same):
"Here you go, this is my work. I think it's terrible, but please have a look anyway..."
In my opinion, this is a textbook case of what is called "false modesty." A tool used by almost every "self-conscious" artist out there to avoid being called out for overrating themselves. In other words, what they're basically saying is this: "I'm actually super proud of it, but I don't want people to think I'm a narcissistic jerk, so I'll play 'Mr. Critic' against myself..."
On its own, that would indeed be a perfectly valid reason to do it. No "professional" can allow themselves to claim they're "good" in any way, right?
In the case of those less impressed by such shameless attempts to avoid criticism, the effect of such an intro is exactly the opposite. Think about it: on the surface, yes, you are not putting yourself on a high pedestal, so there's no reason anyone should call you out for it. Underneath all that, however, this "disclaimer", so to speak, actually implies that you want others to start praising you and telling you that your creation is "the best thing ever." And I'm not talking about how "everyone enjoys getting praise," either. What I'm saying is that you're almost begging for praise by pretending to bash yourself.
If people are presented with an advertisement for a work that is prefaced by the creator giving it a negative review, you'll instantly become desensitized to most (if not all) negative things in it, because every genuinely good element will instantly make you think "what the hell is this guy smoking? This is actually pretty good!" That said, the next thing most do after such an introduction is quickly provide positive feedback for the creator, since "they need to be cheered up and be told that their stuff isn't bad after all..."
Tl;dr: by saying that your stuff "sucks," you merely sucker people into viewing it and giving positive feedback.
Now, to be honest, I'm actually guilty of this habit myself after having advertised a story of mine once as "my worst story ever." Then again, to be fair, I used the term "worst" instead of "bad" or "worthless" or whatever, which implies that I'm only comparing it to my other writings, but I'm not commenting on its quality directly. With that out of the way, what really bugs me about this practice -- other than the fact that they always throw in a shameless request for everyone to have a look anyway -- is the whole idea that everyone is supposed to be "their own most harsh critic." Better yet, what I despise is the fact that everyone tries to be so open about it. If you do it internally, then by all means go for it, since it makes you become a better artist. But doing it out in the open is nothing more than a pretentious display of how "modest" you are, when in fact you are being anything but modest. Claiming to be "bad" so people will tell you you're good is a pretty much the opposite of modesty...
(Exhibit A:)
In my opinion, an artist should be proud of their work, if for no other reason, then because it's a part of their career as an artist. And when faced with criticism, an artist should defend their work, even if they agree with the criticism. It's other people's job to find stuff in it that they don't like and find reasons to back up their arguments, and it's the artist's job to offer a counterargument and present those things as valid parts of the work nonetheless. Just to give you an example, the screenwriter for "The Core" -- a movie that is notorious for "hideously unrealistic premise and overall content" -- decided to respond after one too many bashings of the script. Not to say his response is the "height of professionalism," but it's satisfying to see someone stand up for themselves like this nonetheless.
And before you all jump at me for claiming that you should even defend your first kindergarten drawing as "the finest piece of art in the last 100 years," let me add that I think it's perfectly okay for an artist to dislike their work. It's okay to say "I don't like it," because that has nothing to do with quality and doesn't really imply any thinly-veiled thirst for others to praise it (unless they start going into detail, which is why I prefer if one doesn't rate their own work at all). It only says they're not satisfied with it for whatever reason, and will strive to do better next time. Saying "it's a piece of shit," on the other hand, is shamelessly asking for a pat on the back.
How do I know nobody who says it really means it? If they did, they wouldn't have put the stuff out there at all, or would at least have fought tooth and nail against whatever external pressure forced them into it.
That is all. Your thoughts?
False modesty, what a joke. If I were to link one of my stories to another, say for example The Tell-Tale Talker, I'd say something like: "here is a story I wrote. I'd like you to have a look at it and hear your notes on what you think of it. Please be honest with your criticism as it'll help me to become an even better writer."
If to want people to look at and critique your work, you should be prepared for bluntly honest criticism.
I say that not to be modest, I say it because i know in comparison to a lot of things, it's awful. But if someone were to ask me if I were a good writer, i'd say i'm okay, better than some.
I'd say sometimes it isn't false modesty, it's only really false modesty when they go on and on and on about it even when people have proof that they're a good writer. There's a point where it's not modesty anymore, it's just plain self-destruction. There's also and alternative which is what you described, the attention whore. They say their story is bad so someone will say it's good so they can feel good about themselves.
That in and of itself though, is far more narcissistic than simply pretending you think the quality of your work is low.
I love writing all of my stories, but I always catch myself crying "WOLF" now and then, much to my own chagrin.
2341768
Maybe, but the point I was trying to make is that I didn't go and start bashing my story by saying stuff like "it's awful." And even if that bit of self-promotion that I quoted sounded like I did, then here I am now, standing up for my work just like how I pointed out that I think I should in the blog.
For the record, I actually appreciate it far more if someone thinks very highly of themselves and their work, and is willing to defend that position of theirs, even if the behavior goes to almost a disgusting degree. It's a lot more likeable to me than someone who, almost reflexively, always throws in a line or two about how everything they do "sucks." If criticism and debate are what spawns progress, then the former creates the most of both, while the latter tries to dodge them altogether...
2341630
Yes, sometimes that may be the case, but it seems more like it's nothing more than a pitfall everyone stumbles into. Like I said: why should anyone have to play "harsh critic" against themselves in front of everyone else? After all, one didn't make something for the reasons that they don't like it.
To me, it feels like a more subtle (or, to be blunt, more cowardly) form of "ego defense." Being a high and mighty douche that claims to be "the best writer eva!!1!11!" is no worse than trying to dodge criticism by going ahead of everyone else and claiming that your stuff is worthless.
2342347
I'm not saying that it's inherently worse because it's more narcissistic of a concept. It's more honest and straight forward, without any deceptive pretense.