Neil Gaiman on the publishing game, new federal laws against annoying people (which, incidentally, violate the First Amendment), and an interview with Ben Browder (of Farscape and Stargate SG-1 fame), who says some things about acting that I think apply to writing and reviews and worrying about what people are going to think of what you’re doing:
“…I don’t usually think about the end product when I’m filming. I’m involved in the scene and involved in the discussion of how we’re doing it and where it fits in the story. On the better days you’re more engrossed in the story than anything else. And the bad days you certainly go, “Wow, that was terrible. That sucked. Please save me!…You know, generally speaking it’s not something—thinking about fan reaction is not necessarily something which occurs while shooting a scene. It may be something which occurs when you’re reading the script or when you’re thinking about it outside of work. But when you’re actually working you’re pretty busy and you’re concentrating on your job, and your job at that point is not thinking about, “Wow, Bob in Iowa is going to hate me.” Bob in Iowa may hate me regardless of what I do…Actors get swept away in either the attention or the reviews. I never went into this particular kind of job for either, I don’t think. I love the process of acting. I love what goes on in the floor. I love the interaction. I have a really great job. I have a job where some days I get blown up, and some days I get to swing a sword, and some days I get to kiss the girl, and some days I’m standing around speaking techno-babble. But it’s a great job. That’s why I do it. Not because it affords me an opportunity to have someone clap me on the back. It’s nice when that happens, but it’s not sufficient reason to be away from your family. It’s not sufficient reason to spend your life looking for praise, I don’t think.”