A good writer

I think it depends on what you're looking for in entertainment. Do you really want a story? Do you want an opinion? Do you care abour grammer and spelling and punctuation?

As far as the latter goes, I am on the side of proper spelling and grammar. But I also understand that language evolves. The concept of proper spelling and grammar is a newish concept actually and I think that maybe if you consider it with that historical context, it helps take that bit of medicine that maybe a lot of people don't care about it so much anymore.

I prefer it. It matters to me and people like me. It matters when you write a book or resume or editing an article, still. I appreciate that. I am a word nerd. I correct people and I don't care if they think I'm pretentious. It's not that I think they're dumb, but it does bother me, I think because they are uneducated when it comes to writing. And if writing is a medium you are using, please do so correctly, or as correctly as you are apt.

On the one hand, some people say that's classist. On the other hand, you don't very well let someone say that 2 + 2 = 7 and not correct them, do you? You don't get to math "your own way" and not have people tell you you're bad at math. Why is it different with language?

But, on the other hand, modern English doesn't look anything like old English or even middle English. Our ancestors spelled phonetically, if they could even spell at all. Thank you, Gutenburg.

But yes, I will say emphatically and unapologetically, poor grammar and spelling is distracting. And if you do not take the time to get it right, I will not take the time to read what you want to tell me. So tell me verbally, because you're a poor writer at the outset and it's not fair to me, the reader that you ask me to decipher what you are trying to say. Communicate your way, but have some respect for your audience.

As far as story creation; well, I love a good world setting and something character driven. Usually, I need to care about at least one character in the story. For me, for a story to go from good to great means a character arc. a rich, interesting setting and a plot that might play with expectations, or have a satisfying ending. I like some humor mixed in to break up sad or heavy stories. I like a character I can identify with. I like not always knowing that there will be a happy ending. I like creative takes.

But not all of those elements are important to everyone. And that's okay. Some elements are more important to others, depending on what you need from the story.

So yes, it is highly subjective and it's easy to see why.

I couldn't read the Twilight books, or the Davinci Code. It doesn't mean they were bad; they were just not for me. I love anything by Jack Vance, but his characters are often challenging; but his rich, imaginative settings pull me in. Peter S. Beagle's characters are easy to identify with and his plots are very creative. Piers Anthony's wordplay is positively delightful and the way he has built the world of Xanth is unique but masterful. Each book builds from one to the next, but you can read them out of order and independently, and that is not easy to pull off. Especially with such a rich, complex world like Xanth. But not everyone agrees with me on these.

Like a painting, it's all in the eye of the beholder. And that's okay.