Prefacing this with the innate knowledge that it's really not something that should irritate me. But I keep seeing youtube thumbnails and screenshots of posts that complain about how modern writing all feels "cheap", poor quality, and vapid, etc. And to this I say.... Why are you only picking commercial paperbacks and then complaining about commercial writing!!!

Like hello, it is not Ali Hazelwood's fault that you are reading a romance novel and expecting literary fiction? You people NEED to read books that don't come off the display tables at Barnes & Noble. The Coin by Yasmin Zaher was literally published last year, and it is one of the most beautiful, insightful, profound works of fiction I have ever read. I promise you, there are THOUSANDS of works coming out every year like this one, and they will fulfill your need for insightful art. 

I get this irritation a lot in general whenever I see anyone complaining about anti-intellectualism or consumerism on tiktok or social media--the problem here is that you are searching for anything that ISN'T vapid on a social media networking site. Those platforms have been used for other kinds of art, but that just isn't the design, right? You don't get to have it both ways. You can't log onto the Digital Opium app and then complain about everyone being sedated.

I continually see people putting women's writing in the crossfire as if they are ruining some sanctified art form, when the novel has been seen as vapid and effeminate from the time of the literal printing press. The problem isn't "modern writing," you just aren't looking in the right places for your art. Obviously there are critiques to be made on an industry level of the need for an author to simplify their work into social media content for marketing purposes, but from a consumer perspective, the answer to this problem could not be any simpler: Read literary fiction. Read books that come from small presses and unknown authors. Read self-published works that come to you from somewhere besides amazon unlimited. Read international fiction!! Maybe even read a little poetry since lord knows you people are starving for it!!!

Or, you know, keep reading commercial fiction if you genuinely enjoy it, but don't be a dick about it the whole time.

 

And in caring about this enough to rant this long, I've only given my attention to the discourse machine...... The only way to win is to unplug your internet I fear