Good Writing?

I read a lot of writer blogs and I read a lot of their material. I've read a lot of books out there on the shelves. Not the entire book, but I get a good sampling whenever I'm in bookstores, the library, and even Walgreens. I think I'm a pretty good judge of what good writing is, by now.

So not only do I use that ability to critique my own writing, I also use it to determine who writes well and who doesn't. And a lot of people out there do indeed write well. But, damn, a lot just don't. What really gets me is that there are agents out there who toot horns for their clients and even contest participants who just plain don't write well.

I have read some very average samples (even horrendous) in both books and contests, and I shake my head. Yet these are published works or contest winners. Just goes to show you that it's all subjective. Bad writing to one person is good writing to another. There you go.