Great Writing?

It happened again. I'm talking about a literary agent who gushed about a sample of writing, claiming it was something wonderful. She posted the sample and went on to explain why she thought it was so great. I will agree that her point made sense, but her explanation pertained to such a small portion of the sample that you were left thinking what about the rest of the writing. It wasn't so great at all.

I didn't comment, but I felt validated when other people commented with the same opinion I had. One commenter even said that the small part she talked about was in common use in her country. It was really just an ordinary use of words, and overall just an ordinary paragraph. I've seen/read great writing. That sample did not qualify. But, once again, we have an example of subjectivity. Was it great writing? It was in one person's opinion. Maybe that's all it takes.