If I were to walk into a room with artists on the right and writers on the left, I’m likely going to head to the right and sit with the artists.
Why?
Because I rarely hear criticism from artists.
Please don’t misunderstand me. Constructive criticism is an important criterion for creatives. It can show flaws or areas for improvement in our work and offer fresh ideas that we may not have considered, providing new perspectives and improving the quality of our work.
Despite criticism helping to improve our work, I prefer to hear an artist say about my recent painting, “This is absolutely stunning; I love the colors you used,” than “The color scheme you used is way too dark.” The latter may be true, but it’s nice to hear compliments among the criticism. I rarely hear compliments from other writers, especially from published ones.
I was president of a local artists’ organization for two years. When members brought work to the meetings for critique, no one hit them with negative questions and commentary. Our dialogue often went like this: “What inspired you to create this?” “I really connect with this piece; the way you captured the light is breathtaking.” “The detail is incredible.” “This speaks to me on such a deep level; I can feel the emotion in it.”
On the other hand, I was president of a local fiction writers group for several years. Our critiques often went like this: “I like where your story is going, but there’s too much telling and not enough showing.” “The protagonist isn’t likeable.” “Your main characters lack depth.” “The dialogue sounds unnatural.” “The pacing drags in the middle.” “The ending feels rushed.”
I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. Although feedback helps lead to more polished and effective creative output, too much negative response can make a creative take it as a personal attack. I’ve seen it happen many times, especially among writers.
So, yeah, I’m going to gravitate to the group of painters, sculptors, and photographers before I sit with the writers. If only they would be a little kinder to each other.
What do you think? Are you a creative? Do you find yourself dealing with a lot of negative criticism?
Thanks for joining me today. And as always, peace and love.
Steve, 1/6/2026
This post “Writers vs. Artists” copyright © 2026 Steven Leo Campbell at stevecampbellcreations.com – All rights reserved.
Steve Campbell Creations 
I used to attend a writer’s critique group and I always tried to frame comments in a positive manner and focus on what was working, however most people seemed to revel in harsh comments. When I pointed the harshness of the comments the reply was, better to toughen up now because editor comments are much worse. I found it very demoralizing and just stopped going because it was not helpful in advancing my work.
I remember touring some artwork with an artist friend for a video project for local tv where we were showcasing local art. They narrated each piece and pointed out the styles, colors, media and positive aspects of each piece and never mentioned how terrible some of them were. I wonder if psychiatrists would have an explanation or category for the phenomenon? lol.
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