Something that often gets overlooked in all the talk about why modern writing is shit is the effect the internet has had on people's ability to understand what they're reading. Specifically, I'm talking about how growing up on social media and watching "reviews" from channels like CinemaSins has trained people to pounce on any inconsistency the moment they see it in the most superficial manner possible so they can get a "witty" tweet out about it. I'm talking about things like calling out Character A saying something in Chapter 6 that contradicts something he said in Chapter 3 as bad writing instead of the character himself lying, or losing touch with reality, or anything like that. It's this obsession with proving that we're smarter than the people who are writing the thing we're reading. Of having a quick retort for everything instead of letting what we read sink so we can think about it.
When we read like that, we also write like that.
Instead of trying to create complex characters or a narrative with twists and turns, we instead write so that people who read novels like they're social media posts don't find anything to make fun of. And that absolutely impacts the quality of what we write. We're not writing for ourselves, or our audience, anymore. We're writing so people who want to find something to mock have nothing to mock. But that's an impossible goal, because if someone wants to mock your work, or you, they will, even if they have no "legitimate" reason to do it. We can't write with those people in mind. We shouldn't be those people, either.
Novels are supposed to make you lose yourself in another world. You're supposed to feel for the characters and care about what happens to them. You're supposed to see them as people. Fictional people yes, but still people. You aren't supposed to read like an editor looking for mistakes and you aren't supposed to write for an editor.
Look, there's a lot wrong with modern writing. I know that this isn't even in the top 5 issues that need to be fixed. But it's still something I notice, especially from younger or newer writers. And it's sad to see people scared of their own work.
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