Do writers have a tendency to be nasty

Hey, no worries. No question is crazy. So far, I have found the writers on the (single) site I contribute my writings to be polite. As a writer, I presume you would want the community to help you to improve. That could be done in two ways; the first is through encouragement, and the second through critic. I made it clear in my profile description I welcome the positive and the negatives. The positives will spur me to keep writing, while the negatives would sharpen as a writer. Am I good? I doubt so. Yet the community had been most tactful. If in the future, some nasty comments do arise, I will remind myself what I wrote in my profile. I trust nastiness lies deeper in the character of the person than just being a writer. I have seen cab drivers and other occupation who can nasty too. You're not silly...Don't be silly....haha.. I cannot help myself with the last statement. No pun intended and forgive me if you were offended. I wasn't trying to be nasty and I really mean no harm. Cheers!

I think that when one writes, one has a lot of experiences and not all of it is good. Also we have to contend with people who thinks what we wrote about actually happened to us. Or that we knew someone who did that. Also some of us have to get into the mood of the villain. I have never been nasty, but sometimes I feel I am tempted or snap at some people. Luckily I do not go on many forums, too busy forum. I also think that in writer's forums, anything goes. So therefore they get to express their true feelings. And telling someone their work belongs in the garbage, might cause that person to improve his work.

I joined a writing group in my town 7 years ago. There were only 6 members at the time. The mandate of the group was to keep things positive. We didn't want nastiness and negativity. We want to encourage and motivate. The group has since grown to 25 people which, I might add, is too many. There are too many different personalities and the air has changed. I am not writing as much as I used to. I write at group but do very little at home. The whole idea was to go home, write, and bring back what you wrote to the next session and share it with others. I haven't had anything to share in months. Negatively can be demoralizing and discouraging. We can't kick people out of our group but I am hoping a few of us can break away and meet separate from the group, but still go to the regular meetings. We still need good critique but there is a nice way to deliver messages and comments. And not everyone has the same taste in writing, but we still need to be respectful.

I don't know if it's a wide problem. But writers are the real starving artists of the world. I mean, a painter or sculptor can scripple some crap on canvas or glue tin cans to a park bench and their careers can be made. To write something inspiring and original and relevant is something you can't luck into. That's not the only reason, but it is one of the reasons I think writers are more cynical than most people - the realization that it's hard work to tap into something worthy, and damn near impossible to do it consistently. Writers tend to have little patience for disagreement in my opinion. Most think they're right because in the profession you pretty much have to be. This can probably lead to some outbursts or other responses one may consider nasty. And then you do just have nasty people out there, regardless of what they do.

I think writers are not nasty though many are blunt. Writers exists on a lonely plane and hardly mix with others. They star into space to get inspiration. They work around writer's block. Most will not be in the best of behaviour or high spirits. Very few authors are successful. So, most tend to be disgruntled and possibly rude and crude. Pardon them.

Members have a tendency to be nasty, they usually are having a bad day or they are just looking for trouble. I don't think is right to call them writers, well, they write but they are not really professional writers, a writer, a real one is one who writes books, columns, or has something published the traditional way.

i think it is just a coincidence... i don't believe that all writers are nasty... but we can't help it that there are always some nasty people in this world because this world is not perfect... and i think writers have the tendency to be very blunt and straight forward in whatever they want to say which can cause misunderstanding to some people... take care and have a nice day...

I can, of course, speak only from my experience, but it's considerable. I'm a writer, & I've met scads of others, whether in writers' workshops, from having corresponded with them, or at conventions, where fans meet them, & the writers read their newest works, & take commentary. In very few cases, I've met a writer who thinks he or she is God's gift to the Universe, & behaves arrogantly. All the rest have been eager to please, eager to share, & very nice people! Perhaps it's just you've been in the wrong place, & lucky you, got all the nasty ones at the same time & it's merely that my luck ran the other way? I don't know for sure, though...maybe it's just that Texas, where I live, mellows them all out! Whatever, good luck & keep looking; I know they're out there! Maggiepie "Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted." ~ Jules Renard, author (1864-1910)

Yes, writers are perceived as nastier for several reasons: 1. Some people do not want to hear that their writing isn't rated tops every time they put an item up for critiquing. One lady promised to get me removed from the site if I didn't rate her as a six star - which is considered extraordinarily exceptional. She got booted instead because other writers saw her threats and reported her. 2. Some people want nothing more said than 'nice work' or 'that's good' and if you actually spend valuable time and energy giving a real critique they are furious. 3. Writers should expect real critiques if they expect to grow in that arena. If everyone says 'wow, good stuff', nothing is gained or learned and the writer will remain mediocre. 4. On the other hand, some writers who have managed to get a book published turn into hams and rip apart anything put before them as not worthy of their time. They are the cruelest of the lot. 5. True writers of merit give real help and want nothing more for their efforts than a thank you - which many fail to give. Writing is not a business where you will receive pats on the head from many except family and friends. If you want to grow, you have to learn to take criticism in many forms. So, yes, writers are cruel - take it and use it.

I'm not sure online forums are going to be the best place to measure the nastiness of writers. People are more likely to be nasty online then they are to be in everyday life. If I was measuring the nastiness of the world by online venues then I would rate Yahoo and YouTube users as pretty nasty people because there's always trolling and flame wars going on in their forums and comments.

Hi Risa, I have noticed the same thing in many forums. While we cannot make assumptions that only writers are very brutal and blunt, since we do not have the chance to visit all the forums in the world, I do agree that the attitude of experienced writers will scare off newbies. The attitude is not right. Everyone should give encouragement to newbies, and not saying dreadful things.

Hello, Risa. On the contrary, I find most fellow writers very supportive. I'm a member at Helium, and on the forums there it can sometimes descend into nastiness, but generally people try to help each other out. Writers do tend to have a way with words that may seem abrupt to other people, but I've only come against what you'd call really nasty writers twice in the three years I've been writing seriously, and I think that's more a case of they're nasty people, rather than nasty writers.

My experience is quite different. I've been on a lot of different kinds of forums, and writers usually are more willing to be helpful to each other than a lot of other people. If a flame war gets going, it's easy to let that influence your view of the participants, but the worst flame wars I've seen have been on sites that have nothing to do with writing. I admit that there are a lot of writers who ask for critiques and then complain and get nasty when their work doesn't impress other people. But they may just be the kind of people who can't stand any kind of criticism about anything. Yeah, it's hard to work your butt off on something and then see it criticized, especially if it's not done with some sensitivity and the desire to help rather than to just cut someone down. So maybe writers are more prone to get upset. But as far as being generally nasty, I don't think they're any worse than any other group. In fact, some of the nicest people I know are writers. :-)

I dont know if writers have a tendency to be nasty. I geuss so beacause all of the people has to be nasty or unless they have learn maners like me in did learn maners and now i now i am not that so nasty like before back then i was nasty but then my mom got mad that i was nasty and she tought me maners or to not be rude.

i think anyone regardless of his/her profession has the tendency to be nasty. though i have encountered some nasty writers in a writers' forum too, i can't say a good percentage of them belong in that category. criticisms are okay as long as they remain objective and can help in improving someone else's job, but getting too personal or downright rude is another thing. i've also come across healthcare people in one hospital who were really nasty, but when a respected doctor comes around, they would suddenly turn polite. it only means that nastiness can actually be curtailed, is not necessary, or should be avoided if one is supposed to help another or if their job requires them to deliver appropriately and politely. some people simply act nasty to show how superior they are, or are just plain rude.